Warsaw opens a new modern art museum as it tries to leave Poland's communist legacy behind

WARSAW, Poland -- The Polish superior connected Friday is opening a modern creation depository designed by American designer Thomas Phifer, a minimalist light-filled building that meant to beryllium a awesome of openness and tolerance arsenic nan metropolis tries to free itself from its communist legacy.

The Museum of Modern Art successful Warsaw sits for illustration a agleam achromatic container connected a awesome metropolis street. Inside, a monumental staircase pinch geometric lines rises to precocious floors, wherever ample windows flood nan assemblage rooms pinch light.

City and depository officials opportunity nan ray and unfastened spaces are meant to pull meetings and statement — and go a awesome of nan antiauthoritarian era that Poland embraced erstwhile it threw of authoritarian communist norm 35 years ago.

Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski said nan museum's opening is simply a “historic infinitesimal for Warsaw" and that nan project, which will later see a theater, would thief to create a caller metropolis halfway nary longer dominated by a communist symbol.

“This spot will alteration beyond recognition, it will beryllium a wholly caller center,” he said Thursday. “There has not been a spot for illustration this successful Warsaw for decades, a spot that would beryllium created from scratch precisely to beforehand Polish art, which is spectacular successful itself."

Warsaw was turned to rubble by occupying German forces during World War II and was rebuilt successful nan grey, sometimes drab, style of communist regimes crossed Eastern Europe. But years of economical maturation successful nan post-communist era person produced modern solid architecture, cutting-edge museums and revitalized historical buildings.

The depository was built connected nan tract of a erstwhile parking batch adjacent nan Palace of Culture and Science, a dominating Stalinist skyscraper. Though long hated by galore who saw successful it arsenic a awesome of Moscow's oppression, nan ornate palace remains an icon of nan metropolis coming — possibly moreover nan city's astir recognized building.

The depository responds pinch its agleam achromatic minimalism and smaller scale.

“It is very important that this building is located other nan Palace of Culture and Science and symbolically changes nan center,” depository head Joanna Mytkowska said. “This is simply a building dedicated to open, adjacent and antiauthoritarian culture.”

American and different Western architects are putting their people connected nan city. The metropolis skyline includes a soaring luxury building created by Daniel Libeskind, nan renowned Polish American architect. The patient of British designer Norman Foster created nan Varso Tower, which astatine 310 meters (1,017 feet) is nan tallest skyscraper successful nan European Union. A Finnish architectural squad designed nan city's landmark Jewish history museum.

Phifer's New York-based believe is known successful nan United States for projects including nan North Carolina Museum of Art, nan Corning Museum of Glass and nan Glenstone Museum description successful Potomac, Maryland.

Asked by a newsman if he viewed nan Warsaw depository arsenic his masterpiece, nan 71-year-old did not hesitate pinch his answer. “Of course,” he said.

He said from nan clip he began moving connected nan depository 10 years ago, he was alert that his activity was portion of Warsaw's “remarkable renaissance.”

The metropolis financed nan 700,000 cardinal zloty ($175 million) project. For now it only has a fewer useful of creation connected show but will yet clasp arsenic galore arsenic 2,500 exhibits, including nan useful of apical world artists. Its afloat opening is scheduled for February, but nan building's opening program starting Friday features weeks of performances and different events.

The area astir it is still nether building and it will yet go what nan designer calls a “forum space” including a plot and a theatre pinch a achromatic facade, besides designed by Phifer.

Not everyone loves nan caller museum's austerity, and immoderate residents person compared it to a actual bunker.

Phifer said he believes nan critics will consciousness otherwise erstwhile they participate nan building and spot its creation and really nan achromatic inheritance gives abstraction for nan creation “to travel alive.”

“The depository is what I would telephone a magic box. There is simply a spot of enigma to it,” he said. “You don't really understand this activity until you travel wrong and acquisition it pinch nan art."

Trzaskowski, nan mayor, said he each eager architectural projects are bound to operation up emotions.

“Every ample task that has been built from scratch successful nan world, specified arsenic nan Pompidou Centre successful Paris, nan Guggenheim successful Bilbao aliases nan pyramid successful nan Louvre, has stirred up controversy,” Trzaskowski said. The existent controversies, he added, are only yet to travel erstwhile nan avant-garde depository starts staging its exhibitions.