Flash flooding in New York City this weekend has presented a new test for the New Museum, which experienced a significant water leak on Saturday in a gallery housing work by WangShui. Video footage shared with ARTnews and confirmed by the museum as accurate shows water pooling on the gallery floor as staff members move quickly to place buckets beneath active leaks, as well as water streaming down the didactic for “New Humans: Memories of the Future”.
The incident comes months after the opening of the museum’s $82 million expansion, which faced scrutiny after its debut over reported faulty construction and facilities, including unfinished details and concerns raised by contractors and observers about the building’s final stages. The museum closed early on Saturday and will remain closed Sunday due to the flash flood warning, according to a statement posted on Instagram.
A spokesperson for the New Museum told ARTnews via email statement: “As soon as this leak was discovered, immediate steps were taken to address it and no artwork was harmed. Out of an abundance of caution, the Museum will remain closed tomorrow, Sunday 7/19, and all ticket holders for tomorrow have been refunded.”
WangShui’s oppose the serpent (2024), on view at the New Museum as part of “New Humans,” is a monumental entry from a series created for the 2024 Venice Biennale. Composed of hand-anodized aluminum panels colored with cochineal—a natural dye traditionally derived from insects—the work features intricately etched imagery inspired by marine life, smoke, and earthworms. ARTnews has asked WangShui’s gallery representation, kurimanzutto, for comment.
