Today, New Museum — one of New York City’s leading and arguably most avant-garde contemporary art institutions — reopened to the public. I recently shared the story of why it had closed and who designed its new extension. Both architecture enthusiasts and art lovers had been eagerly awaiting its return.

I visited the opening today and wanted to share what’s worth seeing at New Museum — and why it’s definitely worth a visit.

The main exhibition is titled “New Humans: Memories of the Future” and explores how technology is reshaping human nature.

On the 2nd and 3rd floors, you’ll find the primary exhibition space and its “historical” section, featuring works by Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, and Constantin Brâncuși. It also includes a reconstructed and expanded version of MoMA’s legendary 1959 exhibition “New Images of Man.”

It’s hard to miss “Amazon Worker Cage” (2019) by Simon Denny — a physical model of Amazon’s patented cage designed for warehouse workers operating among automated systems.

Nearby hangs Varvara Stepanova’s striking painting “Figure” (1921). Close by is a work labeled “Untitled,” though it clearly references “Lenin” by Lazar Markovich Lissitzky (El Lissitzky).

The 4th floor is my personal favorite: “Cities of the Future,” featuring flying creatures. Artist Anicka Yi has launched jellyfish-like drones hovering above fantastical city models by Bodys Isek Kingelez — serving as a sarcastic nod to the film War of the Worlds.

Equally impressive is the “Hall of Robots” — a gallery filled with humanoid sculptures set on pink carpeting. Highlights include an anatomical mannequin with glass skin by Tschackert (1935), an obsidian xenomorph by H.R. Giger, and a surreal floating runner with a twitching cybernetic arm by Andro Wekua.

On the upper floors, you’ll find studios for resident artists and the expanded Sky Room — a space offering beautiful views of the New York skyline.

Unfortunately, the open terrace on the seventh floor and some other areas remain closed until the summer season, so for now the city can only be enjoyed through glass. All floors are connected by a striking atrium staircase, which is arguably the most impressive architectural feature of the new extension designed by OMA.

Personally, I was very pleased with the “new” New Museum (sorry for the pun). Its exhibitions are usually more radical, but this time they’ve made something more accessible and familiar.