New
Museum

Fragrances As
Exhibition Catalogue

ASPECTS OF N˚1 & N˚2: THE PERMANENT SCENTS OF THE NEW MUSEUM


CASE STUDY
Founded in 1977, the New Museum is a leading destination for new art and new ideas. It is Manhattan's only dedicated contemporary art museum and is respected internationally for the adventurous and global scope of its curatorial program.

THE BRIEF
A vessel for memory, and a sensory device for use in everyday life, fragrance for the museum elevates the typical experience of exhibition ephemera, offering the means to recall, relive, and revisit a feeling experienced in the walls of the museum.

IDEAS
Studio FOLIE approached the task of capturing the permanent scent of the New Museum by inviting two visionary perfumers to translate their experience of the museum’s past exhibitions and physical architecture into scent.

ASPECTS N˚1
“40 SHADES”
by Mark Buxton

“My approach was to work my way from the outside inward — beginning with grey/metallic building, adding a few colorful drops, and finally adding various aspects from the inside — the materials used, colors, natural,synthetic, animals, etc. Using Musscarome J5, bright green notes for the works of Maurizio Cattelan and Zoe Leonard…traces of rose oil for the rose on the building or works of Jeremy Deller… bright notes such as grapefruit, sulfur and bay oil for the clean, clinical white walls, mixed with cold white notes such as Calone, Floropal, Rhubarb and Cardamom pure jungle oil. In contrast I used warm woody notes such as Vetiver, Guaiac wood, and cashmere wood, mixing these with an aldehyde, which smells of dusty books, and a slight smoky aspect, which reminded of the lobby. And let us not forget the red thread of the fragrance, metal!!!!! All in all, a strange combination of oxides, which also reflects the neon lights and psychedelic aspect of the whole museum.”

ASPECTS N˚2
“CONCRETE & SKIN”
by David Chieze

“My initial approach was to capture the scent and texture of concrete, a dominant element in the architecture of the museum. The ingredients used for this were mineral, cold, and dry, like myrrh and incense (conuring the mineral/stone scent), modern woody notes (supplying the dry aspect) and oak moss (bringing a dampness typical of fresh concrete). The incense is in overdose, and induces a “fresh paint” note to the top note of the fragrance. My second approach was to create contrast against the imposing blocks of concrete, inert and “dead”, giving them life, or more provocatively, sex (which is the basis of life !). As there is a lot of work around performance, nude bodies, animals and nature in the museum, the rest of the fragrance is focused on animalic notes and human presence (referencing the work of Maurizio Cattelan, Kiki Smith, etc). Using musk, ambergris, civet absolute, sandalwood and cumin, we get this milky, hormone-like sexual undertone, unconsciously addictive. Traces of rose, spices, and an ancient book accord (bidoun library project) brings color and texture to enrich the fragrance.”

Client — NEW MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Perfumers — MARK BUXTON, DAVID CHIEZE

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