The Modern Museum of Art is currently exhibiting at the National Gallery of Victoria until October 7th. It includes a range of works straight from MoMA New York, which houses the most modernist collections of art in the world. My favorites Gaugin, Lichtenstein, Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Duchamp, KAWS, Warhol, Haring, Pollock, Mondrian, Koons, *breathes* and Dali are household names especially when it comes to MoMA. You’ll be able to spot their art here in Melbourne before it gets shipped back home to midtown, Manhattan.
During my trip to the US 4 years ago, I actually stoppped by MoMA by mistake. My family stayed in midtown right in the heart of Times Square, making it convenient for us to walk anywhere. I remembered as soon as we checked in our hotel, we unpacked, napped for 2 hours, ate hash browns at the McDonalds downstairs and headed towards 6th and 5th Avenues, spending the rest of the day exploring nearby hotspots. On the way, we noticed a busy Halal Guys street cart and ordered proper lunch. Given it’s a new york street cart, customer seats don’t exist so we ate our plates of meat on rice while walking towards 6th/5th avenues. It was tough!
3 minutes later a miracle happened, we saw MoMA and it had public seating at the entrance! We happily seated ourselves right there with all the museum goers, chewing away our delicious meat on rice.
That was my first MoMA experience.
At the time of that event, Henri Matisse was headlining a major show at the museum. Now that MoMA is here in Melb it made me a little nostalgic seeing the artworks. Some familiar ones, some not. What I remember the most in MoMA New York was how impressive the store was. It’s hard not to burn the wallet when you have a heap of exclusive books and design-y products right before your eyes and you know you can’t get them anywhere else. Which brings me to this next photo, a KAWS BFF figure that only stocks in MoMA New York and nowhere else. I subscribe to the MoMA site and everytime I get notified of any KAWS product available online, the store crashes. This is just how it rolls when you deal with international fanatics trying to order a freaking toy. No need for that now. It’s here, purchasable in Melbourne!
Kaws is the epitome of modern art. After his Shanghai exhibition and seeing this for sale in Melbourne, I sure hope we get a Kaws exhibition soon.
Design had evolved naturally, as a passion and a lifestyle beginning at an early age when I made trips back to the motherland, Indonesia, I experienced the surroundings and the lifestyle that was vastly different from what I was used to. I found myself passing by villages where children made their own toys with whatever was left around them; scrap metal, bits of cloth, banana leaves, and even cigarette butts. Despite this, the children were happy and proud with anything they created.
This image struck me and forever inspires me to contribute my skills to places that need it the most. Design helps me make decisions, while art helps me take risks. Both areas reward me with opportunities to create something impactful and everlasting!
The Modern Museum of Art is currently exhibiting at the 
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What I remember the most in MoMA New York was how impressive the store was. It’s hard not to burn the wallet when you have a heap of exclusive books and design-y products right before your eyes and you know you can’t get them anywhere else. Which brings me to this next photo, a 