Manuela, which opened in October, is stuffed with art that climbs up the walls, Royal Academy style, and often with artists. My first night there, I clocked the great colorist Stanley Whitney a few tables away; another night, Cindy Sherman dined with former Harper's Bazaar editor Glenda Bailey.
Though it has had, in its first months, the zippy energy of a room-scanning, air-kissing opening, its pitch feels directed less toward celebrating its makers than cosseting its clientele. Manuela comes from the Swiss megadealers Iwan and Manuela Wirth, whose Hauser & Wirth gallery has four locations in the city and 17 more worldwide.
Common parentage and name notwithstanding, the Wirths are at pains to distinguish their eating-and-drinking ventures from their art ones; Manuela, the restaurant, technically comes from Artfarm, their hospitality business, but it is lavishly appointed with works from Hauser & Wirth's stable of artists and estates.
...the fabulous vine of discarded-plastic mushrooms that snakes over the restaurant adds another layer to the artistic experience, showcasing how food and art can beautifully coexist in a modern space.
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