While down visiting at Club Ponderosa a few weeks ago, my mom and I decided to go down to the Chi and check out the Art Institute’s new Modern Wing. I have been dying to get down there since it opened back in May, but haven’t had a chance, so I was pretty pumped to see it. Let me tell you it definitely lived up to my expectations! Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the Modern Wing provides a new home for the museum’s collection of 20th- and 21st-century art. The building is amazing. The way the light filters through the windows while still allowing you to view the Chicago skyline, it just blew me away. I also love how it is incorporated into Millennium Park. I sincerely cannot do it justice with a description, you must go check it out for yourself.

We only had a few hours to check out things, so we didn’t get to cover all of the collections. We did get to check out the Modern European Art Collection, Contemporary Art from 1945-1960, Contemporary Art from 1960-Present, and the Cy Twombly Exhibit. Sadly, we didn’t get to Photography or Architecture & Design, so I need to get back.

I loved every bit of what we saw, but two stand outs for me were the Twombly Exhibit and the works of Gerhard Richter. Both are favorites of mine, so it was great to see more than one or two examples of their work. I am already wanting to plan another trip so I can complete the rest of the Modern Wing as well as revisit some of the oldie but goodies the Museum has in it collection.

Image: Cy Twombly, Note III, 2005-2007, Acrylic on wood panel 96 x 144 in. (243.8 x 365.8 cm)