When I visited the New Museum back in October, I went to see the exhibitions of Jordan Casteel (below left) and Peter Saul (below right). But I had a surprise when I went down to the basement to use the men’s room …

Check out this elaborate tile work in the men’s room! As you can see from the wall label at left, it’s the “Jerome L. and Ellen Stern Restrooms” at the New Museum. Naming rights for a bathroom … that’s interesting and new to me. A little research shows this occurred as part of the museum’s fundraising capital campaign back in 2007, when they were redesigning and upgrading the museum. These bathroom tile designs were the creation of Tokyo-based architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA, and according to this article, was named “America’s Best Restroom!”
