Storm King Art Center

• The focus of Storm King Art Center’s distinguished permanent collection of American and European modern sculpture is on large abstract welded steel works from the 1960′s to the present, although figurative works are also on view. A core group of thirteen sculptures by David Smith anchor a collection of outstanding works by modern masters such as Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, and Louise Nevelson.

Whitney Museum Unveils Its Downtown Sanctuary – New York Times

• Mr. Piano’s project for a site on Gansevoort Street, west of Washington Street, is a striking departure from the ethereal glass creations that have made him a favorite of the art-world cognoscenti.

• Mr. Piano has created a contemplative sanctuary where art reasserts its primary place in the cultural hierarchy.

• In a recent interview Adam Weinberg, the Whitney’s director, said the curators had yet to define the relationship between the two buildings. (One possibility is that the Breuer building will be used for exhibitions that focus on one aspect of the collection or a single artist, with the core of the collection relocated downtown.)

• Mr. Piano’s design is certainly distinct from Breuer’s, presenting a strange, even forbidding aura. The building’s faceted surface seems hewed from a massive block of stone. Its main facade is slightly angled to make room for a small public plaza. The roof steps down in a series of big terraces on one side; on the other, it forms an impenetrable block facing the West Side Highway.

  But as you study the form more intently, more layered meanings emerge. The stepped roof, for example, both supports a series of outdoor sculpture gardens and allows sunlight to spill down onto the High Line, the elevated rail bed that is being converted into a public garden. The angle of the facade allows people walking along the High Line to catch glimpses of the Hudson River down Gansevoort Street.

• The feeling of a structure being carved apart to facilitate the flow of light and movement is magnified at ground level. Part of the structure rests on a glass base that houses a bookstore and cafe, so that you feel the full weight of the building bearing down. The underbelly of the building tilts up at one end, providing shade for the plaza and adding a sense of compression as you approach the entry.

• This experience abruptly changes as you cross the threshold, for a window at the back of the lobby opens onto a view of the water and the height of the lobby space suddenly lets you breathe again. From there elevators whisk you up to the auditorium, library and galleries.

  The new museum will have 50,000 square feet of gallery space, compared with 32,000 uptown. The third-floor gallery, at 17,500 square feet, will be the largest column-free space for viewing art in Manhattan, Mr. Weinberg said.

Antiques Fair for the Garden Set at the New York Botanical Garden – New York Times – Annotated

• Antique Garden and Furniture Show and Sale in the New York Botanical Garden, Friday through Sunday.

  The fair, with 37 dealer booths, specializes in antique garden furniture, ornaments, sculptures, architectural elements, garden books and prints, and is timed to coincide with the garden’s first spring blooms. Weeping cherry trees, daffodils, tulips, violas and fritillaria are all in their glory.

• Not everything in the fair is antique, defined as at least 100 years old. “We want everything to be 50 years old but allow newer material if it is interesting and properly labeled,” Ms. Sweeney Singer said.