Museums have a way of exhausting you. You show up, walk around for a few hours, bouncing from room to room, checking out paintings or sculptures and the like. It's incredibly moving, but by the end of the day, your feet are tired and you need to unwind. Artechouse has solved that problem.
Chelsea Market is often known for its varied food options from the infamous Miznon and it's fantastic roasted cauliflower to their more eclectic options like Seed + Mill (Halva galore). While Artechouse isn't exactly food, the new installation popped up by Chelsea Market recently and has been gathering quite the social media buzz, for good reason too.
So what brings Artechouse to the city?
Their goal, written on the wall when you first walk in, "is to be a destination in every city for an innovative, 21st-century art that is created at the intersection of art, science and technology." And they BROUGHT it.
The visuals alone are sublimely impressive, but the feel is insane when images are swirling and swimming in front of your eyes.
The other perk to this space is that you can see almost the entire thing in the comfort of one room. There are two outlying rooms, including the one that leads to the immersive space and hosts a bar for those who want to sip, sit and enjoy, and another that sort of walks you through how all the imagery is made.
What's on Exhibit Here?
The artwork, currently called Machine Hallucination created by Refik Anadol, is more like a show of continuous images than a simple varied art piece. The "show" itself lasts a little over 30 minutes, but because it is projected on every part of the room, even the floor, it's worth staying for a double run-through so you can catch a glimpse of every part of each image before it flashes off screen. Also, it is honestly mesmerizing and hard to even keep track of how much time you spend staring at it. There is no limit to how long you can stay once you're in and they provide cushions to keep you comfy.
The small room that highlights how the artwork is made sits directly behind the main room and has a tech-genius feel to it. It has a few computer/TV screens that display a walk-through of each design that you see up front, in addition to a brief explanation of how it all came to life. I definitely recommend it as stop number 3 before you leave because you don't want to ruin the magic of the imagery before it even starts.
It really is a completely new experience and unlike something you're likely to have seen before. I'm not saying all museums should be like this, but it certainly opens up the definition and a whole new world of possibilities.
So check it out, then head to Ayada, Big Mozz, Black Seed or one of the other fantastic food options Chelsea Market and the Meatpacking District has to offer.
You can check it out and grab tickets here!