Moco – The Modern Contemporary Museum, London – Review 

Last Updated on October 22, 2024

Art for Art’s Sake

Like me you’ve probably seen advertisements for and press features about the new contemporary art gallery Moco – The Modern Contemporary (Moco) Museum, situated bang in the centre of London with its impressive address: Number One, Marble Arch. Moco is the brainchild of its founders, art-world power couple Lionel and Kim Logchies, with the museum’s mission being ‘to awaken the world to the inspirational power of art. ‘ Moco Museum already has two galleries, one in Amsterdam and Barcelona, with the London outpost featuring new works, large-scale digital art installations, and contemporary art masterpieces from artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Banksy, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Daniel Arshamand and KAWS. Spanning 24,000ft across three floors, the museum is large enough to hold a sizeable collection, but not too big to feel overwhelming and it hits the one-hour length of visit ‘sweet spot’. The interior is an ‘art gallery white’, with a pair of stylish staircases linking the three floors.

The ground floor features ‘Moco Masters’ with the central space dominated by American artist Daniel Arsham’s extraordinary piece ‘Blue Calcite Eroded Porsche’. 

There are a couple of Andy Warhols, a striking series of paintings by  Jean-Michel Basquiat  (Untitled – Bicyclist shown above) hung alongside works by Japanese legend Yayoi Kusama, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Tom Wesselman. There’s also a Picasso to give some historical context. It’s a powerful selection of works from some of the biggest names in modern art in a light airy space.

The first floor features the work of  ‘Moco Contemporary Masters’ – successful artists who are creating the artistic zeitgeist. There is neon art from Margate’s own Tracey Emin.

And ground-breaking street art from KAWS and Banksy (above) as well as striking pieces from British photographer Chris Levine, Julian Opie, JR, Takashi Murakami and Hayden Kays.

The biggest surprise for me (in a good way) was the selection of works created by Robbie Williams – the  Mix Tape Series from his recently released collection ‘Pride and Self-Prejudice’ – ‘which aim to address his personal journey with his mental health  

The lower ground floor is the space to explore installations and digital art. There is provocative political work from artworld enfants terribles Jake and Dinos Chapman and strong artefacts from Argentinian multimedia artists Pilar Zeta, Andrés Reisinger and Six N. Five.

British sculptor Anthony James’ 60″ Triacontahedron, the artist whose work was central to the recent Netflix film Glass Onion starring Daniel Craig, offers an astonishing view into the infinite!

As a fan of Daniel Arsham, I enjoyed the camp Zen aesthetic of his fictional archaeology, Lunar Garden. There is also interesting work from Italian sculptor Lorenzo Quinn, Ibiza multidisciplinary artist Miranda Makaroff, and a selection of NFTs.  

If you are looking for a quick fix of the highest quality contemporary art then Moco is just the ticket. The gallery already seems to be a fixture on the tourist trail. If you are a parent or grandparent looking for somewhere edgy but also visually stimulating and Instagram-friendly to take your kids or grandchildren, then it’s a safe bet. It’s also an ideal date venue! And if your retail urge can’t wait until you get out into neighbouring Oxford St, then there is the Moco store, offering ‘a curated selection of memorabilia.’

Moco

1 Marble Arch,
London,
W2 2UH

Tickets from around £16 (there are various concessions and under 7s are free). Book online from the Moco website

 Opening hours: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays