While Asia is quickly becoming a hub for contemporary artists, you’d never know it walking into San Francisco’s stoic Asian Art Museum. Known for showcasing priceless objects from its massive collection, the forty-six-year-old institution was wavering on the brink of bankruptcy in 2010. Taking smart steps to broaden its appeal, the museum restructured its debt, got a fancy new look, and is now mounting its first large-scale exhibition devoted to contemporary Asian art.

The opening of the new Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia this Friday is the culmination of one of the most controversial projects in recent art world history. The architects, husband-and-wife team Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, tell us about working on the project amidst the art world’s protest.

When the weather turns warm this summer, be sure to spend a sunny afternoon on the roof of the Met. Argentinean artist Tomás Saraceno has transformed the museum’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden into a dream-like habitat of transparent and reflective modules called Cloud City.

Last week, Marina Abramović announced that she has commissioned OMA, Rem Koolhaas’s architecture firm, to develop her massive performing arts center in Hudson, New York. Over the years, Koolhaas has produced many ambitious plans for museums, quite a few of which haven’t seen the light of day.

Defining Contemporary Art: 25 Years in 200 Pivotal Artworks takes an innovative approach to surveying the art of the last quarter century, which is notoriously difficult to periodize or define. Eschewing grand narratives, Phaidon asked for individual artwork selections from eight of today’s most influential curators.

This week in NYC, enjoy the warm weather on the Met roof, explore the Martian landscape at the Park avenue Armory, and party for your favorite non-profits at their annual benefits.

An art historian and an art editor have teamed up to produce Information Graphics, a new Taschen publication (slated for release on May 27) that encyclopedically chronicles the images that make sense of the torrent of data rushing past us. The book itself provokes information overload with four hundred infographics about subjects from sleep to politics and four essays about the history of graphic design. Preview a few highlights from the collection below.

Former fashion designer Helmut Lang is focusing on art full-time and has quietly opened his New York exhibition at a Village townhouse.