Rubin Museum of Art

How have I not reviewed the RUBIN before? I have seen MANY amaZing exhibits there, truly amazing, from Chanting Priests to, currently, an exhibit where the theme is: TRY TO
ALTAR EVERYTHING. Genesis Breyer P-​orridge is the artist who came up with
the content: I can’t begin to describe what is a feast for the eye: but the large ‘shoe horn’ and the ‘mice’ which are not mice at all cannot be missed. The way the approach has been
structured thru the art provides more than enough fuel for the spirit. You don’t have
to pay attention to the Buddhist exhibits but the Café on the first floor really does
serve fine tea and pastries and the gift shop is one of the best I’ve ever been in.
The quiet of the museum and its relatively compact (intimate)size make for an
’art experience’ that will leave you truly transformed. I’ve seen many of the special
exhibits over the years: this one really left me breathless! (And by the way
the ground you, the location is very near some fine thrift stores, so afterwards…).

This place deserves more attention. I was there for a short visit Tuesday. All Asian art. I loved the Buddha statues and various Hindu deities. Large coffee shop attached with lots of seating.

Went a couple months ago but I’m now reviewing it. Unfortunately when I went the shrine was closed so I didn’t get to see it. Womp. But it was still amazing. The art work was breath taking. Very serene and will make you feel relaxed.

I’m not a big fan of Buddhism to be honest, however I deeply enjoyed my visit to Rubin museum of art today, given what I have learned during my journey. I haven’t been to Tibet or India myself, so I’m glad to take this chance and enjoy this mini-​cultural traveling.
Spiral stair was the first highlight, leading directly towards the highest level of the building. The best part about the exhibition is definitely the interaction, that they tried to connect the visitor with the culture. Different gestures from the Buddha could mean different things — hmm interesting and never thought about that before. Second highlight — on second to top floor, there was a small room, trying to mimic the real Tibetan palace and we spent about 20 minutes inside, just to experience a similar feeling.
The whole visit took a little less than 2 hours and every minute I learned something new and fun. If you are craving food after the visit, there is a small café on the first floor, serving meals and beverages conveniently.

its a really nice museum. good student discount. its big and small lol. i like how each floor isn’t huge so it doesn’t confuse u. its a beautiful building and like the other reviews say it does flow very nicely. 6 floors makes it big and i thought the art was very interesting. I liked the Cuban art downstairs. i dont usually look at too much historic or religious art but it was a good place to visit. the bathrooms r very clean. the only exhibit i didnt like was the one on the 6^th floor. try to alter everything. i just saw a bunch of stuff on the wall in containers and photos of peoples buttholes. –_​– maybe i’m not understanding it… but like i said the asian stuff was very cool.

I went here on my latest trip into the city. It was a nice museum… But it was literally 5 floors of the same art. If you are indian or know about this subject matter, you’ll love it! If you are like me and don’t know the difference between different buddha’s… It might me less than entertaining. The building was really nice.

Eclectic and wonderful — saw photos of India by McCurry, Himalayan art, and wild stuff by Breyer P-​Orridge (one gender art).
McCurry’s photography was utterly incredible — a must see. Meditate at the Tibetan temple, and the outlook of P-​Orridge is truly a unique journey in the human experience
But! Avoid the food downstairs — coffee is bitter, the current India-​like menu is a waste of money — too many good places within a few blocks

I do not have enough good things to say about this museum. As a child I’ve spent my time frequenting many other, larger NYC museums and I am sad to say I have not even heard of this museum until my mid-​twenties! The Himalayan art and Stephen McCurry’s photographs were amazing and I feel lucky to have seen his work. The staff puts a lot of effort into engagement, and there were a lot of pictorial representations of information (which is nicer rather than reading blurbs!) and they even had a Tibetan shrine which was very immersive to the senses– music playing and incense, a place to sit and of course the gorgeous shrine. It is a nice place to learn about Eastern art as well as religion and lifestyles of people from this region. It is not too overwhelming and it was not very crowded– you can totally see all the exhibits without becoming super exhausted. The museum is super sleek and it’s cool just to see the architecture of the building as well. They have a small gift shop, a café, and a bar. On Friday nights they have open bar, a DJ, and you can walk around the museum with free admission (never did this but it sounds very neat!) Otherwise, they do offer student pricing (CUNY students get in for free!) Go to this museum! It is underrated and it is a wonderful experience– I wish all museums were like this one.

This museum is a great way to spend 2 – 3 quiet hours.
I love the organization of this museum– all centered around a spiral staircase, and the circular format of each floor made it exceedingly easy to navigate and assuaged my museum FOMO, lol.
Definitely don’t miss the prayer room on the fourth floor and Stephen McCurry’s photography exhibit!
I also really appreciated the muted colors of the walls and the dim lighting. Also, this museum’s relative quiet and soothing ambiance were a welcome change from, say, the Met.
I left the museum with a new appreciation for Eastern religion and art. I didn’t go on any guided tours, so I cant vouch for that, but I will definitely be back for more visits.

I visited the museum during a free admission time (Fridays nights, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.). The entire museum is displaying Himalayan art (Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Tibet). It’s a small space but cozy. One of the highlights is the sacred space, a Tibetan buddhist shrine room where you can get a feeling of being inside a temple. There is the Café Serai that serves Himalayan food. This is a place to visit whenever you feel like going on a journey to the Himalayas.

I am a big fan of Asian art, and having lived in China and visited Tibet, and being interested in Buddhism, I was intrigued to see this museum which centers around Himalayan art. My friend and I opted for the complimentary tour. Unfortunately, the tour guide (Allison?.. short dark hair, larger build) was not the best experience. She was talking extremely slow with exaggerated pauses that several other people on the tour actively were whispering about to one another. It was such a strange way of speaking that it simply became distracting, and as the tour went on, many people simply left to explore on their own. The way she talked was obnoxious and rude… she made a few off-​hand comments that alluded to her being way more knowledgeable about the art work and that the tour group was inferior to her. It was the most uncomfortable tour guide I have ever experienced.
That being said, the museum is definitely worth checking out. I would recommend skipping the tour, if that particular woman is the only tour guide. I believe they have audio tours you can take instead. There is also a café and gift shop. I wanted to buy a yoga mat from the gift shop that had a tiger on it, but the person I went with said it was wildly impractical because I already have a perfectly fine yoga mat :(If you are interested in Asian culture and art, this is a very interesting place to spend a few hours exploring.
The other staff, with the exception of the tour guide, were very friendly and kind.

I really dig this museum.
I dig the fact that it’s small and intimate.
I dig the fact that it has wonderful flow — start on the top floor and work your way around and down the stairs to the next level.
I like the unconventional Tibetan and Himalayan art (face masks, etc).
I like that’s it’s free after 7 pm on Fridays! Open until 10 pm.
I LOVE the über cool lounge/​restaurant on the ground floor and how this place becomes a very chill lounge to hang with friends or a date on Friday night.
I LOVE the food here (Café Serai/​K2 Lounge) and I’m so surprised. Amazing pulled pork bao-​bun and fried duck momo! Between 6 – 7 pm, 2-​for-​1 special on all beer, wine, and well drinks.
Plus there’s a DJ playing cool (yet not loud so you can still talk) music.
I don’t know why I would spend my Friday nights anywhere else.

Love this place! Gorgeous museum with stunning exhibits. I went to a tribal mask exhibit then their café happy hour and had the best food. Beautiful peaceful museum even if you hate museums. Lovely book shop as well.

Museum that features Himalayan art — primarily Tibetan. Expect a lot of art with Buddhist themes. This place is a newer museum and is fairly sleek and modern looking inside. Some of their objects are centuries old but the majority of things I saw were modern artists. I visited here on their free Friday nights (after 6pm) and am glad I didn’t pay. This museum was just okay to me and I found myself bored after awhile.

Excellent collection of Himalayan art.
The Rubin is a smaller, more focused museum that features the largest collection of Himalayan art in the U.S. Come here for a great chance to see things you won’t see anywhere else, and to learn about the art of a remote, rugged region. It’s 6 floors, but you probably can cover most everything in a few hours. And unlike MoMA, the Whitney or the Met, this place isn’t overrun with crowds — it’s quieter and more serene, more conducive to contemplation.
I highly recommend the free tour, particularly if you’re not well-​versed in Buddhist art. Our tour guide, Ed, was great: very knowledgeable, a good speaker with a good sense of humor (he said he was a former teacher, and it showed). He did a great job explaining details & their significance, and placed everything in the larger context of Buddhism (most of the art is religious in nature). I got a lot more out of my visit because of Ed and his tour.
The museum café is good, and focuses on food native to the region. Though they have a nice selection of teas, I opted for coffee (La Colombe, brewed strong, $ 2.75 for a large cup) and a Tandoori chicken frankie (a tasty, egg-​washed wrap filled with chicken and crisp, tangy slaw, $ 11 including an arugula side salad). The frankie was good and filling enough to be lunch. For a museum café, prices were unusually modest — no higher than what you’d pay elsewhere.

I came here twice for the K2 Friday Nights.
Happy hour lounge is really nice– sleek décor, colourful low lights and an in house DJ. There are a tasty assortment of snacks to order. My favorite are the duck momas. Drink specials include fancy cocktail mixes and 2-​for-​1 house wine specials from 6 – 7.
First visit @ Rubin, I went to a concert with a friend and didn’t get a chance to check out the actual museum because we were both exhausted. The second time, I went with a date and we actually checked out the museum after happy hour. The museum is actually a lovely stroll (all six flights) and the art (which changes up every so often) is a delight on the eyes. Not to mention it’s not as super packed as other free museum nights (ie– Brooklyn Museum and MOMA), which makes this a very pleasant experience.

The Rubin Museum was founded by healthcare executive Donald Rubin and his wife, Shelley Rubin, to house the collection of Tibetan art they had begun assembling in the 1970’s. In 1998 they bought a building on Seventh Avenue in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood which had been extensively remodeled by the upscale men’s clothier Barney’s before they went bankrupt (Barney’s was subsequently resurrected elsewhere in the City). After a remodeling which preserved the sweeping multi-​story marble circular staircase which Barney’s had installed as the centerpiece of their galleries, the Rubin opened to the public in 2004. The art work they show provides insights into the Himalayas from both aesthetic and cultural perspectives; the second floor has a particularly instructive installation called Gateway to Himalayan Art along with a complete Tibetan Buddhist Shrine room. The Rubin features long-​term displays from their permanent collection as well as rotating special exhibitions and offers extensive music and spoken word programming in their basement auditorium and educational programming; they have an active café on the ground floor adjacent to a book and gift shop.

Wonderful collection and beautiful set up. I like how perfect the size for this museum. I can see everything and read the text also enjoy the little temple. It’s very well designed place and I never felt overwhelmed. I also love it because there never so many people. It’s my secret hide my day museum.

Such a cool place in NYC! Not only is it the only art museum to focus on Himalayan art (Tibet, Nepal, Northern India, Western China), they also have a swanky bar/​café/​gift shop area on the ground level.
My company had a few reserved tables at the bar area and we arrived Friday just before 7. There is a 2 for 1 happy hour from 6 – 7 but it doesn’t include cocktails. I tried the Tamarind Sour (bourbon-​based with orange bitters and Dark and Stormy (rum and ginger beer) The bartender charged us the wrong amount for the drinks so be wary! The Tamarind Sour was so strong and it was nice to see the bartender peel oranges in front of us.
We went on a tour at 7 but since you’re not allowed to bring drinks, I chugged my drink and listened to the tour while very tipsy. Luckily there were some soft cushiony chairs throughout the exhibits I could rest on. The tour guide was a nice young man who was very knowledgable, funny, and able to field our groups various questions. I especially liked how the museum shows the making process for bronze sculptures and thangkas. This is also different from other museums where you have to keep a polite distance. It’s encouraged to examine the art very closely to be able to see all the detailed intricacies. Thangkas are made from mineral pigments and it was truly incredible. Had to leave early but will definitely be back to explore the rest of the museum!

Sadly under the radar, the Rubin has a great collection of Asian art. Because it is under the radar, it is never crowded and you can view the exhibits with space and leisure.

Really beautiful, everything is perfectly placed, well lit. The best part about this museum is the FOOD — So good!
My favorite is the Tandoori Chicken Frankie and the Pulled BBQ Pork Bao-​Bun. The Blackened Swordfish was good quality fish but when I had it, it tasted too salty to me.
If you love the art, it’s fantastic. If you’re looking for a place to eat, this is a fabulous place!

Sometimes I feel like I’ve given all I can, and it’s not enough. I’ve given all I can, but we’re still on the payroll.
On such days, I venture out to Rubin and look at Buddha’s, usually on Fridays after 7pm (it’s free). There’s something about this place that plucks heart strings. It reminds you that ultimately, there’s balance in the universe; there’s justice. Peace. Love. It is serene. The building is aesthetically pleasing. The downstairs cafeteria is unpretentious. Motley bronze deities are staring back at you as you ascend the spiral staircase to the 6^th floor, as if each level is revealing a deeper understanding of self. Buddhisatvas. Tantrics. Mahakala. I didn’t realize how wrathful the guardians can be. All the life’s noise suddenly morphs into an OM chant.
I sincerely adore this place. The 13^th to 19^th century Tibetan sculptures are nothing short of breathtaking. Sit at one of the computer terminals, and learn the intricate details of Buddhism. Walk through the exhibit and observe the artistic process – from geology of paints to the instruments used.
I think the top floor was my favorite. The culmination of all the banners, sculptures and shrines of the lower five floors is a ritual mask exhibit – used by shamans and ritual dancers all over the globe, spanning many centuries. Captured by each mask is its very purpose: to frighten, to invite good karma, to ward off demons. This collection is the prism for the wide gamut of human hopes and fears, our entire humanity, flawed, confused, both evil and caring – reflected in the dancing faces on the wall.

An interesting art museum with more of a historic and/​or spiritual bent. The space is beautiful and there’s a café where you can order appetizers and drinks.
With that said, I wish they had more contemporary art from the Nepal region, to really explore art and life in the region instead of this slant, which feels a little stuffy to me. There’s something strangely off putting for me — like a museum for wealthy collectors as opposed to for artists from the region or for visitors to learn more about such a complex and beautiful country.
There is free admission on Fridays.

This small, specialized museum deals in art of the Himalayas and India, mostly religious, so think depth, not breadth. In this art every small gesture makes a difference, so it pays to take a tour or read the wall labels carefully. We arrived just when a 15 minute/​one work «tour» was starting, and even this brief introduction to the art was helpful. Take the elevator to the top floor galleries and walk down the spiral staircase. You will learn many things, such as the difference between a buddha and a bodhisattva. On the second floor there is a stunning exhibit, an elaborately decorated shrine room, with a soundtrack of chanting monks, where you will definitely want to linger, observe, meditate, and rest a while. One of New York’s hidden gems.
For New Yorkers who remember this building as Barneys, there is another layer of enjoyment – to see rampant commercialism replaced by the symbols of timeless values, inner peace and serenity. Way to go, Rubin.

This is a handsome little museum whose permanent collection feels like a very good intro to Buddhist art, with a focus on Tibet and Nepal. That collection is on display on floors 2 and 3, and those are the ones to head to first. Floor 2 is an intro to Buddhist art and terminology, and floor 3 is where they display the best pieces from the permanent collection.
Free tours are offered daily. I took the 30 min Exhibition Tour, where what’s covered differs from tour to tour. We ended up reviewing the 3^rd floor. There’s some beautiful work here and the docent helped place it in context. The tour was worthwhile and could easily have been longer.
Nice as this all was, the Rubin doesn’t feel like an essential NYC museum. I think the Met has a broader, deeper collection of similar art (though you have to take this note with a grain of salt because I haven’t been to the Met to see specifically this in a long time), and it’s not something you’d absolutely have to go out of your way to see. 3.5 stars, if I could.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Rubin Museum. It’s a small museum that can be completely covered in an hour or two — perfect for a rainy Sunday!
The staff members were very friendly and knowledgeable. There are hour long tours that cover the highlights throughout the day, though we chose to explore on our own. My favorite part was the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room which is really beautiful. There are a couple handheld receivers with recordings that explain the layout of the room and the reasons behind the placements of the various pieces and their symbolism.
The Marc Riboud photography exhibition takes up an entire floor and will be on display through late March 2015 — I highly suggest checking it out. The photographs are stunning and the timeline of Riboud’s life is very interesting.
Admission is a reasonable $ 15 and there is currently a «bring a friend for free» coupon on the Rubin’s website that we missed before our visit. Check it out!

Cool museum in Chelsea with a beautiful spiral staircase that climbs all the way to the sixth floor mostly carrying Himalayan art, Nepal, Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism, and photography of Asia. It is well curated with fine artifacts and video montages. There is a replica of a Tibetan Buddhist shrine room complete with Dharma, Tantric staff, Thighbone trumpet, Vajra, Stupa, Shakyamuni Buddha, images of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, cymbals, fake incense, hand drum, bell, Seven offerings, and a kneeling station. Gold figurines of Deities and Bodhisattvas are However, there were no Sutra placed nearby the altar which are imperative to Buddhism religion. Guided tours are available at various times of the day. Audio guides are available as well. The description of each piece or original photograph are well informed and explained. Alone for Post-​Christmas Day 2014, it is here where I am well-​cultured to be immersed with art. Museums are so much better than spending a mindless four or five hours of karaōke /​drinking binge. I pass by this museum very often en route to my workplace always intrigue, always entice my interest to go inside until now…
One adult admission $ 15.00 is an utter disbelief to the bank. The ticket admission person question if I were a student which my response «that time as a student has long passed.»
Note: Photography (without flash) is permitted where noted. Security guards’ Big Brother watchful eyes are not as strict as Frick Museum.

The most gentle, peaceful museum around — even on a Christmas Saturday! It is such a special place that I have been a member for years.
The food served at the Café Serai is also amazing. The mulligatawny soup is a homey entire meal for $ 7.
This museum is especially convenient if you’re around the 14^th Street area

This is a museum that truly lives their mission statement for public engagement. I don’t know much about Himalayan art, and scant more about Buddhism, but this museum always makes their exhibitions so interesting and welcoming for people like myself. The prayer room is a «period room» like no other – it’s a very reverent feeling space, and I think it’s beautiful and thoughtful that there are audio guides available on little handsets. I once saw a girl meditating there, and other visitors respected the silence.
On a different note, this place livens up on Friday nights in the K2 lounge! The 2-​for-​1 drinks make this a very cool place to get a drink (or two) for less than $ 15. There is usually a DJ, and the rest of the museum is available for browsing. This museum is worth the trip.

Very beautiful. I recently costing the Rubin museum on a Friday night (Friday nights are free). I was not expecting anything really as I am not a big museum person. However, I was pleasantly surprised and absolutely loved the museum which is attached to a pretty cool bar with a DJ. The current exhibit featured works by Clemente inspired by India — which was absolutely perfect as I am completely fascinated by the culture of India. There is also a lot of works featuring Buddhism and Hinduism which is absolutely stunning. The Tibetan shrine was by far my favorite exhibit. Overall walking through the museum — which is designed beautifully itself — was a great experience.
We stopped by the bar at the end of the night for a drink and which was fun and made the whole experience feel less like visiting a museum and more like hanging out.

For my 200^th review, I couldn’t be happier to leave my praises for the Rubin Museum. I’d heard about the Friday night events and wanted to check it out for quite some time and it ended up making for a great date night with my hubby. I love getting to experience museums in unique ways, and the Rubin offered a lot of different experiences all in one evening– a great intro to the museum that makes me want to come back for more.
6−7pm Happy Hour
We arrived at 6:10pm and entered in the K2 lounge to grab some 2 for 1 happy hour cocktails. The happy hour from 6−7pm applied to beer and wine, while the cocktail menu was regular price. We knew that we were going to try the food as well, so we ordered at the bar and the bartender suggested we find a table soon because it would fill up quickly. Food was tapas portions, very flavorful, with lots of great spices. We ordered the spicy lamb meatballs, bread and chutney sampler, and charred octopus. All of it was delicious and the only order I’d change in the future was the bread & chutney sampler. Instead, I’d just order the side of naan to dip in the delicious sauces that came with the meatballs and octopus. We held onto our receipt, knowing that our happy hour tab would grant us free tickets to the film screening later in the evening. We were able to wander the lower gallery with our drinks, but asked to leave our drinks behind before entering any of the upstairs galleries. A DJ was playing music the whole time which was a decent volume for having a conversation, and was occasionally interrupted for announcements about other things happening in the museum that evening.
7pm Gallery Tour
The tour started promptly at 7pm behind the admission entrance wall. The museum and tour were free as part of the Friday night special– no bar tab required if you just wanted to experience the museum itself. There were only about 10 people total on the tour. It was scheduled to last 45 minutes, but went a little over because the group was interested and enjoying the guide and the guide was excited to show us as much as he could. He really helped us appreciate the special works in the museum that evening and explained some of the symbolism and what to look for in each piece that would have been difficult to decipher otherwise. In total, we learned about 8 – 10 works, but in such depth that it opened the doors to understanding more of the works in the same galleries. Several exhibits weren’t explored on the tour– so there was still plenty to explore after the tour was over– by no means did we feel we had exhausted the museum.
8pm Film Screening Will Call
Back in the K2 lounge, a small table was distributing tickets for the movie that evening. I don’t remember the ticket price, but it was free if your bar tab was over $ 10 per person. We went in to pick up our tickets and then went back to explore the galleries more before the film screening started. That extra hour was enough to see the rest of the galleries we hadn’t explored yet.
9:30pm Film Screening
Doors opened 15 minutes early and seats were conference style seats around small tables that could accommodate drinks and snacks. There was plenty of room around us and since the seats move, we could give ourselves more or less leg room and space around us as needed. A short talk was given before the movie about its selection and how it related to the current artist in the gallery. This particular feature length film was an Italian film with english subtitles. There were a few WTF moments in this particular selection– but that’s something I love about foreign and experimental film– they don’t always fall into the predictable tried and true storyline and plot points.
I’m not sure what time the bar closed down, but we left the building around 11:30pm and the museum was empty except for the film screening attendees. It was such a wonderful night and a perfect way to experience this museum for the first time.

Came here for their K2 Friday nights, which includes:
+ free admissions to their galleries (no need to stop by their desks to get tickets)
+ modern and hip café-​turned-​lounge on the first floor (their food menu looks pricey though so we didn’t try)
+ happy hour — ½ price on beers and well drinks from 6pm to 7pm
+ free 45-​min tour starting at 7pm, which we didn’t do
Definitely coming back!