NIGHTLIGHT: The Wright Opens in New York's Guggenheim Museum
Restaurant Launches in Iconic International Landmark
Diners Will Enjoy Modern American Cuisine, Contemporary Artwork, and Elegant Atmosphere
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright–designed building, The Wright, New York City’s newest restaurant, opens to the public on December 11, in the famed museum. Named in honor of the great American architect, the intimate Upper East Side destination is located in an elegant and modern architectural space that is sure to dazzle trendsetters, fine diners, art lovers, and world travelers. Additionally, a site-specific sculpture by British artist Liam Gillick was commissioned for the space, creating a truly unique dining experience. Whom You Know was pleased to cover the opening preview last night and we enjoyed the legendary space, made even more amazing by architect Andre Kikoski, and we continue to learn what a small world it is among those pursuing excellence in Manhattan, as his equally accomplished wife is Kim Donaldson, a founder of Bottlenotes, who also hosted a fabulous event recently (click on the blue text to read about that).
The Wright embraces the cosmopolitan excitement of today’s New York. Designed in white by architect Andre Kikoski—who was inspired by the original Wright museum design—the restaurant decor is contemporary and chic. A modern American menu created by David Bouley protégé, Rodolfo Contreras, emphasizes seasonal, local, and sustainable ingredients, appealing to savvy palates of New Yorkers and discerning travelers from around the globe. The Wright promises to become a "must-see" destination.
The Wright combines an upscale atmosphere with a sleek, modern, and comfortable venue, comprising 58 seats and a communal table where guests can enjoy a full-service menu. A casual, European-style bar that features small plates, panini sandwiches, espresso, and cocktails serves as a lively focal point of the space.
"Inspired by and created within an institution renowned for its art, architecture and innovation, The Wright will extend that experience to its food and service," said Aaron Breitman, director of the new restaurant. “The Wright will appeal to neighbors seeking stylish and sophisticated dining as well as visitors who want to experience the thrill of New York in one of the city’s greatest cultural treasures.”
Peachy Deegan enjoyed seeing/meeting:
Kim Donaldson
Andre Kikoski
Michelle DiLello
Susan Grant Lewin
Diane Dunne
Aimee Geller Promisel
Rex Unger
Gary Zarr
Kenneth Courtney
Helaynee Diaz
Maria Celi
David Handschuh
Uri Kaweblum
Robert Siegel
Sukie Park
Willem Van Bergen
Jill Lynn
The Dining Experience
Signature menu items created by executive chef Rodolfo Contreras include: Seared Diver Scallops, Gently Cooked Shrimp, Lump Crab Meat, Sea Urchin Sauce; The Wright Salad, Green Market Vegetables, Gently Cooked Egg Truffle; Maine Lobster, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Marcona Almonds, Clementine Sauce; Slow Roasted Suckling Pig, Quince, Violet Mustard, Apple Bacon Jus; and Spiced Pumpkin & Chocolate Cake, Pumpkin Sauce, Pumpkin Seed Oil Ice Cream.
Whom You Know looks forward to scheduling a review of The Wright!
Located in the landmark Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue at 88th Street, The Wright is open during the following times:
Lunch: 11:30 am–3:30 pm, Friday–Wednesday
Sunday Brunch: 11 am–5 pm, Sunday
Bar Menu: 11:30 am–5 pm, Friday–Wednesday
Dinner: 5:30–11:00 pm Thursday–Saturday, starting in January 2010
The Design
The Wright at the Guggenheim is designed by Andre Kikoski Architect, a Manhattan-based architecture and design firm named one of “The New Garde of Ten Designers to Watch” by New York magazine.
The 1,600-square-foot space features a curvilinear wall of walnut, layered with illuminated fiber-optics, a bar clad in a shimmering skin of innovative custom metalwork and topped in seamless white Corian, a sweeping banquette with vivid blue leather seating backed by illuminated planes of a woven gray texture, and a layered ceiling canopy of taut white membrane.
Andre Kikoski Architect's design philosophy for The Wright engages the heightened sense of procession that is essential to the experience of the Guggenheim and the dynamic perception of art that it fosters. Surfaces and textures are animated by movement, creating an ever-changing fluid aesthetic that is an essential part of the design.
The Art
In summer 2009, the Guggenheim commissioned British-born artist Liam Gillick (b. 1964) to develop a sculptural installation for The Wright. Gillick navigates across a broad range of disciplines, developing his ideas through texts as well as object-based installations. His commissioned work, The horizon produced by a factory once it had stopped producing views (2009), traces the restaurant’s distinct architectural space. Conceived as a sculpture that can be expanded or contracted to fit any designated space, this piece comprises a sequence of horizontal planks of powder-coated aluminum mounted to the walls and ceiling; a similarly constructed transparent screen marks the entrance to site. The resulting room-size installation creates a modular skin on the interior’s surface, its parallel beams meant to be understood, according to the artist, as “a series of horizons.”
The horizon reflects Gillick’s interest in “modes of production rather than consumption” and is part of an ongoing narrative begun in 2004 that centers on a future post-capitalist society. With this work, Gillick invokes the horizontal vista as a space where visitors can reflect and discuss how the built environment structures and patterns everyday lives.
The horizon produced by a factory once it had stopped producing views (2009) was purchased with funds contributed by Restaurant Associates and the International Directors Council of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and is a partial gift of Casey Kaplan and the artist.
About Restaurant Associates
Restaurant Associates provides world class dining at its prestigious locations within iconic museums and performing arts centers across the country. Some of its most acclaimed destinations include: C5 Restaurant Lounge in Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum (ROM); The Morgan Dining Room in New York City's Morgan Library & Museum; Table 1280 in Atlanta's High Museum; and Bravo at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston. From afternoon tea at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to a Provence-themed menu at the National Gallery of Art, Restaurant Associates offers innovative, stylish dining experiences, seasonal menus created from wholesome ingredients, and a culinary team that strives to constantly surprise guests. Willem VanBergen of Restaurant Associates is one of the most on-the-ball bartenders we have seen in Manhattan in a long time!
About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum
Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, architecture, and other manifestations of visual culture of the modern and contemporary periods, and to collect, conserve, and study the art of our time. The foundation realizes this mission through exceptional exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications, and strives to engage and educate an increasingly diverse international audience through its unique network of museums and cultural partnerships. Currently, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation owns and operates the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the Grand Canal in Venice, and also provides programming and management for two other museums in Europe that bear its name: the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum, a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by architect Frank Gehry, is scheduled to open in 2013. With nearly three million annual visitors worldwide, the Guggenheim and its network of museums is one of the most visited cultural institutions in the world. Frank Lloyd Wright, America's preeminent architect, designed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum—his only major commission in New York—from 1943 through 1956. Completed in 1959, the Guggenheim was, when it opened, as much a marvel of construction as it was of design and is among the 20th century's most important architectural landmarks. In 2008, the Guggenheim completed a four-year restoration of its facade, and in 2009/2010, the Guggenheim celebrates its fiftieth anniversary year.
About Andre Kikoski Architect
Restaurant Associates engaged Andre Kikoski Architect, an award-winning, Manhattan-based multidisciplinary design firm that is committed to artistic innovation regardless of budget, genre, or client challenge. “Our passion for material research, our detail-orientation, and our client-centric approach have won the firm clients in a wide range of categories - from hospitality to arts and culture, from real estate to high-end residential,” said Kikoski. The firm has been named one of "Ten Young Firms to Keep an Eye On" by Oculus, the AIA New York Chapter magazine, and one of "The New Garde of Ten Designers to Watch" by New Yorkmagazine. Andre Kikoski Architect's achievements include a nomination from the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Restaurant Design, a Lumen Award for Lighting Excellence, and the Edwin Guth Memorial Award from the International Association of Lighting Designers. The firm has completed dozens of luxury town houses, lofts, duplexes and penthouses; residential investment buildings and interiors totaling over 1.6 million square feet; multiple high-end resorts, award-winning restaurants and hotels; and numerous public and cultural projects, including prominent cultural venues.
About Liam Gillick
Born in Aylesbury, England in 1964, Liam Gillick studied at Goldsmiths College at the University of London. Gillick’s diverse body of work includes sculpture, installation, photography, video, writing, and numerous public projects. Solo exhibitions include The Wood Way, Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2002; A short text on the possibility of creating an economy of equivalence, Palais de Tokyo, 2005; and the retrospective project Three Perspectives and a short scenario, Witte de With, Rotterdam, Kunsthalle Zürich, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2008–2010. Gillick was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2002 and the Vincent Award at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 2008. Many public commissions and projects include the Home Office in London (2005) and the Dynamica Building in Guadalajara, Mexico (2009). Gillick was selected to represent Germany for the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. A major exhibition of his work opens at the Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in April 2010. His work is featured in many museum collections including Tate Modern, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
