One, be prepared to hand over a decent chunk of change: regular admission is $15; with student ID it is $10; and if you’re under 12, well, you’re not allowed in.  True story.  Two, make sure the top floor, which currently displays highlights from the permanent collection, is open on the day you plan your visit.  Otherwise you will have access to only the first floor, which is what happened to me.  Unfortunate.  Three, do not expect a large retrospective of Oscar Kokoschka’s work even though that is the headlining exhibit until October 5th – it is just selections from the permanent collection.

Oscar Kokoschka (1886-1980), was an Austrian artist known for his Expressionist style paintings, and especially for his portraits.  The Wikipedia entry on him is somewhat lacking but the recap on the Neue Galerie website is better (see here and then go under Exhibitions).

The first gallery of the exhibit has 10 paintings by Kokoschka mixed in with others by Egon Schiele, vitrines with silver and glass, and several pieces of furniture.  Oh, the furniture … where do I begin.  I did not pay much attention to the paintings the first time I walked through the gallery, I was so distracted and enraptured by the furniture, particularly a Josef Hoffmann chair from 1908, “Sitzmachine” (the version in the museum has beautiful upholstered seat and back cushions).  The combination of design, detail, use of material with complete functionality make me love this chair.  There is also a beautiful Wagner buffet with mother of pearl inlay, a vitrine by Moser … I’m going to move on [I fall in love with furniture easily, as witnessed at the Met].

The Kokoschka painting which grabbed my attention was the portrait of a man with clasped hands, “Emil Lowenbach” from 1914.  The way the face is depicted with so many colors and lines, while still completely being a face, is what appealed to me.  The pamphlet cites Kokoschka as saying, “Human beings are not still lives,” which is a helpful way to see his paintings.

Klimt, "Forester House" - image scanned from postcard purchased at Neue Galerie store

The central gallery – which is not related to the rest of the exhibit – features Gustav Klimt’s “Adele Bloch-Baurer I,” one of his most famous works which is part of the permanent collection here.  But it also exhibits one of my favorite paintings, which I mentioned earlier, Klimt’s “Forester House” (1912).  For fear of sounding cheesy (unfortunately it’s often hard to say a painting moves you without sounding ridiculous … I’m not up to the challenge today), I will just say this painting has always made me feel something.  And luckily, I believe it’s almost always on display at the museum.

The last gallery shows prints and drawings by Kokoschka, and here you see the parallel with Egon Schiele as well, in the use of line in the portraits.  The small number of works on display still give a sense of Kokoschka’s style and variety.  I did wish there had been more works shown (also there was not even a catalogue printed for the show) but perhaps he was not prolific enough too warrant a large-scale retrospective.  Nevertheless, the show was just enough to make me want to learn more about Kokoschka (and also save a small fortune to buy that chair).

The upcoming exhibit at the Neue Galerie is “From Klimt to Klee: Masterpieces from the Serge Sabarsky Collection” and I have a feeling this might be really good – might need to make a repeat visit later this year.

AND if you’re feeling like you want a full cultural experience (aka a full belly), you can eat at the Cafe Sabarsky in the Galerie.  I have not been but hear it’s to die for.  If this line is too long or you’re finding the menu too pricey, I have eaten German and Austrian food for a great price at delicious Cafe Katja on the Lower East Side – hello, schnitzel!  It’s amazing.

The Neue Galerie is on the corner of 5th Avenue and 86th Street and therefore completely accessible via public transportation (it’s also three blocks down from the Guggenheim and a block up from the Met!  Viva le Museum Mile!)  For more information go to http://www.neuegalerie.org.

happy travels and happy eating!