Haven & Harmony

Because of the deep impact The Living Room exhibition had on the Museum in 2024, Lee Mingwei was invited back to help design a room in the soon-to-be-constructed New Wing, inspired by his project.

Mingwei suggested that the room have three distinct zones: one for social interaction, one for discreetly hovering and observing other interactions in the room, and one for being self-aware and contemplating the past by looking out at the Jordan Garden and the Palace. The Gardner’s famous canary, Whistler, now resides in the Living Room because birds were featured in the original installation in 2024.

“I believe that the essence of this museum does not reside merely in its architecture and objects, but also in its staff and extended family, who make this place function as a living organism on a day-to-day basis. By carrying on the organic process of sharing and entertaining, the Museum regains its role as more than a mausoleum for inanimate, exotic objects.”— Lee Mingwei in 2024, as The Living Room was about to open

The living room

When The Living Room opened on February 19, 2024, the Special Exhibition Gallery was filled with furnishings, plants, live birds, and refreshments, with the intent of giving visitors the opportunity to participate in conversation and hospitality, which Lee perceived as a vital part of life at Fenway Court during Gardner’s lifetime.

For several days, Lee shared objects in the The Living Room that were special to him. Acting the part of host, he invited visitors and staff to spend time in the room, relaxing and discussing the articles on display, sharing personal experiences, musing on new and old aesthetics, and on the values reflected in the Museum.

Working process

The Living Room exhibition was a resounding success. “When I arrived at The Living Room,” Matthew Sussman wrote, “not only was I greeted with the pleasant aroma of coffee and shortbread, along with the sounds of an Italian concerto, but the host for the day personally introduced himself and invited me to make myself comfortable.

As I browsed through his art objects books on Egyptian philosophy, sheet music by Maurice Chevalier, cheap miniature sphinxes. I overheard the conversations of other patrons as they indeed discussed their ideas about the art they had seen that day. The Living Room fosters an atmosphere in which visitors feel comfortable to comment and question exactly the kind of environment conducive to aesthetic discovery.”