Nigel Ip

Despite being a city full of museums, London has surprisingly few opportunities to see ultra-contemporary art outside of commercial galleries, art fairs, auctions, and degree shows.

Opening its third international location, Moco Museum (a contraction of Modern Contemporary) has all the makings of a Phillips auction. The difference is that the works have already been acquired and there’s a relatively hefty cost of admission (£19.90 per adult). For context, that’s the equivalent of a major loan exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery plus access to the permanent collection.

Covering three floors, many of the big names in modern and contemporary art are represented to some degree, some from private collections, on a rotating basis: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Tracey Emin, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, and Andy Warhol. There’s even a Picasso self-portrait around the corner.

What makes this museum a little more interesting is the basement devoted to digital and immersive art. You can find Anthony James’ hypnotic 80″ Great Rhombicosidodecahedron (Solar Black) (2023), Daniel Arsham’s calming Lunar Garden installation (2024), and also a room for NFTs. I’m not the biggest fan of video art but Species (2023-24) by Ezequiel Pini (Six N. Five) was a beautifully entrancing experience.

The top floor also comes with its own surprises, such as a chance to see paintings by Take That singer Robbie Williams. If you like Banksy, there’s the usual stuff plus a giant Battle at Beanford painting (2009) and Picasso Quote (2009), in which Picasso’s famous quote has been carved into marble but its authorship replaced with Banksy’s name.

A temporary exhibition space seamlessly takes up half of this floor. During my visit, this was mainly an extension of the permanent collection and extra loans, featuring a range of works by Monica Bonvicini, JR, London Police, and Francesco Filiberto Tonarelli, etc. The current exhibition is devoted to Marina Abramović’s solo exhibition Healing Frequency.

While I feel this is a bit of a cash-grab – and a backdrop for influencers – it does offer Londoners an extra opportunity to view works by contemporary art’s biggest names without feeling intimidated by the commercial art world or being overwhelmed by a behemoth like Tate. Younger audiences will certainly appreciate this.

The space is stylish, well-designed, completely accessible, and features an attractive gift shop. I just wish it had a cafe too. But the important thing is the art. And I’d rather these works were on public view than hidden away in a vault somewhere.

Moco Museum is located at 1 Marble Arch, London, https://london.mocomuseum.com/