Why White Walls?

(Welcome to White Walls, Part 1 of 2.)

Why are so many museum gallery walls white?

Good question.

Because white is hardly ever the best color for effective display — or human visual comfort.

The “white cube,” a term commonly associated with modern art spaces, originated 100 years ago with the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Bauhaus school of art in Germany. It was an architectural concept. The idea was that white minimalism is philosophically neutral and that it removes all distractions.

Of course, nothing is neutral. But that was the idea. Over the past 100 years, the idea has become so widespread that white has become the default. Now we associate it with modernity, prestige, and connoisseurship.

I’ll say this much: white paint does make rooms look bigger and brighter than darker colors can. And for very bright things on display, white backgrounds might work.

But for the rest, constant white can create visual fatigue, boredom, and difficulty adapting the eye to see detail in darker parts of displays.

Here’s the thing:

White walls are everywhere, but they originated with a philosophical idea about neutrality, not as an attempt to actually make our experiences better.

So what might work better?

We’ll get into that next time.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Virtual exhibition, or online exhibition. A digital or online experience of curated objects, media, or other content. Often created to accompany a physical exhibition for those who can't visit in person, or to experience an exhibition no longer at the museum.

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This Week: SEGD Global Design Awards Event
Heading to San Francisco this week? As the jury chair this year, I’ll be co-hosting the 2025 SEGD Global Design Awards this Friday night (if the FAA doesn’t intervene). I’d love to catch up if you’re there.