The museum restaurant model has gained immense popularity in New York City, with many institutions transforming their eateries into standalone destinations. The New Museum has now joined this trend with the opening of Oberon, a restaurant that is part of its ambitious two-year, $82 million expansion. Developed by The Oberon Group, which has previously opened successful establishments like Rhodora Wine Bar in Fort Greene and Boerum Hill’s Rucola, Oberon aims to create a nexus for the downtown New York art world and its satellite communities.

Source: media.cntraveler.com

The restaurant is housed in a free-standing box on the museum’s ground-floor, which appears brutalist and monolithic from the outside. However, the interior is earthy and cave-like, with ample flora offsetting the futuristic design approach. The structure is clad inside and out with offcuts of cork sourced from Portugal, which were heated and bound into blocks before being cut and sculpted. On the exterior, the cork is coated with silver leaf, and textured laminated glass wraps around the walls to create a subtle two-way mirror effect that reflects the bustle of the museum while hinting at the dining room within.

Source: media.cntraveler.com

The interior of Oberon features a series of booths that evoke the familiarity of a classic American diner. Above each booth, three-dimensional domes carved from cork create intimate alcoves. The regenerative material reflects the restaurant’s emphasis on sustainability and farm-to-table cooking. The result is a space that feels simultaneously tactile and futuristic.

Source: media.cntraveler.com

Oberon’s chef, Julia Sherman, has long been interested in highlighting the common ground between food, dining, and art through her own cooking. Her acclaimed 2017 book Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists combined her own recipes with interviews with and photographs of artists like Tauba Auerbach, Laurie Anderson, and William Wegman doing their own meal-making. Sherman grew up in downtown New York and, as the daughter of an artist, museums were a staple of her childhood. Her husband, Adam Katz, has also worked with the New Museum for a decade as an advisor for NEW INC, the museum’s art and technology incubator.

Sherman says the Oberon was an opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary community of creative collaborators. The fashion designer Mary Ping of Slow and Steady Wins the Race designed the eclectic staff uniforms; designer April Johnson of the studio Flowerpsycho created the opening floral installations; The Noble Studio and Powerhouse Arts Ceramics Studio produced the tableware; and artist Laurie Anderson designed the wrappers of the parting dark mint chocolates served with the check.