Warsaw opens a new modern art museum as it tries to leave Poland’s communist legacy behind

Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The grand opening of new modern art museum designed by the American architect Thomas Phifer is taking place in the Polish capital, Warsaw. The Museum of Modern Art opens its doors to the public on Friday. It has a white box-like facade and light-filled spaces and a monumental geometric staircase. The building joins skyscrapers and and other modern structures in the center of a city still being recreated after the communist era. Some residents have criticized the building’s austerity, and comparisons have been made to a concrete bunker. Phifer said he believes critics will change their minds when they enter the building and see the large windows and the staircase and see how the white allows the art “to come alive.”