A wing that works

The beauty of the MFA's expansion is how it showcases the art without calling attention to itself

November 20, 2010|Robert Campbell, Globe Correspondent

The handsome new Art of the Americas Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts is a place for looking at art, not a place for looking at architecture.

That makes it a departure from other art museums of recent years. At least since architect Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, back in 1997, it seems we’re always being told that the museum itself, not its contents, is the real work of art.

Not at the MFA. This is a building where the art is thoughtfully displayed in an architectural setting that doesn’t call attention to itself.

That’s a surprise coming from this architect, the British firm Foster + Partners. Led by Sir Norman Foster, one of the world’s so-called “starchitects,’’ Foster + Partners is known for such spectacular spaces as the skylit Reading Room of the British Museum in London and the reconstruction of the Reichstag in Berlin, with its spiral glass crown.

We can be grateful that Foster and his team held back on the fireworks this time. The Art of the Americas Wing, which opens to the public today, is a triumph of intelligence and pragmatism. It’s better inside than outside, but we’ll talk about that later.

There’s a lot to love in these interiors. First of all, there’s the openness. In the past, the MFA felt locked up like a guarded jewel box. The new wing throws itself open to the world around it. Artworks need to be protected from too much daylight, but the architects find ways to give us views of the Fenway, a neglected part of Boston’s famous Emerald Necklace of parkland. The Fenway now feels less isolated, more connected, more like the MFA’s own landscape. And there are other striking views, including a panorama of the downtown skyline. Whenever you feel a little claustrophobic, you can step out to a glass observation deck that runs across the front of each new floor.

Then there’s the variety. The 53 galleries of the new wing come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. They are a refreshing change from the mazelike cube farm of white galleries you find in such museums as the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Sometimes the walls are covered with fabric patterns, derived from the same historical era as the art on display. Sometimes they’re painted in soft tones. A particularly sensitive touch is the handling of the captions that label each artwork. Instead of looking pasted on, they’re color-coordinated with the walls.

Finally, for the first time in my experience, it’s now possible to figure out where you are in the MFA. Since the opening of the museum’s West Wing in 1981, designed by noted architect I.M. Pei, that’s been almost impossible. Most visitors entered through the Pei wing at the extreme end of the museum and quickly got lost in what seemed to be disorder.