PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MURAT GERMAN, ISTANBUL MODERN
In Istanbul’s Karaköy neighborhood, Renzo Piano’s 110,000-square-foot showplace for Turkish and international contemporary art wears a shimmering aluminum facade mimicking the Bosporus just outside its door. Enormous, glassy rooms hold oversized abstract paintings by Istanbul-born Fahrelnissa Zeid; bright, blocky sculptures by Ayşe Erkmen; and cutting-edge video works. The rooftop, with its café and infinity “pond,” offers dazzling vistas of Asia just across the water.
