Museu Oscar Niemeyer

The Museu Oscar Niemeyer is precariously perched on a massive yellow 60-foot pillar. Impossibly balanced, the museum stares like a bright Cyclops out over a calm reflecting pool, greeting visitors, and daring them to circle their way into the Brazilian gallery.

Designed by the renowned Brazilian modern architect Oscar Niemeyer, the Museu in Curitiba, Brazil houses many of his works. The gallery, which is also called the Museum of the Eye, was finished in 2002 when the architect was 95 years old. It is colorfully painted and often brightly lit at night. Yet still, the amazing balancing act of the 2,000-square foot gallery creates the most powerful spectacle for museum patrons.

Along with the perched gallery, Niemeyer also built another rectangular gallery on the Museu’s large property, which houses a regular rotation of other Brazilian artists’ work. While the works displayed in the galleries are impressive, the building itself is the greatest work of art on display.

Although the Museum of the Eye is Niemeyer’s most famous and recognized creation, many of his bold and modern works are scattered across Brazil, leaving a striking and influential legacy for others in his field.