DENVER — On the Sculpture Deck of the Denver Art Museum's new Hamilton Wing, a slit in the west-facing wall perfectly frames the snow-capped Rocky Mountains just two hours' drive away. The view is a reminder of how architect Daniel Libeskind visualized this spectacularly cantilevered building that rears above downtown Denver. He called it "an adventure between the works of art, the cultural entities and nature that surround us."

An adventure it is. No two walls are alike, slanting in and out at seemingly impossible angles. No single roofline exists. Instead, the titanium-clad exteriors jut upward against the deep blue Colorado sky as if erupting from the vaults beneath 13th Avenue.

Opened in late 2006, the Hamilton Wing almost doubled the size of Denver Art Museum's exhibition space, making it the largest art museum between Chicago and the West Coast. Named for one of the museum's most generous benefactors, the building itself is a sculpture, and inside is no less astonishing. A soaring 118-foot-high central atrium anchors a staircase that darts in and out of view to serve four floors of galleries. Odd angles of the walls and split ceiling levels make vistas and spaces open unexpectedly as visitors move through the exhibits. Which leads to the question: Does the Hamilton Wing's bold architecture best serve the art inside?

"The museum charged Libeskind to create a striking dramatic form that embodied unique spaces to house its programs," said museum spokeswoman Stephanie Hernandez. "The museum's designers, curators and educators then transformed those spaces into galleries to accommodate pieces in the collections." Works such as "Phantom Tattoo" by Gene Davis, which hangs in the fourth-floor Modern and Contemporary Gallery, "The painting is hung on an inward-sloping wall by the top of the painting allowing the bottom to stand free off the wall," said Hernandez. " ... The painting has never looked so vibrant as it does in this configuration. ... Without this architecture, we would never have imagined hanging a painting this way."

DAM's expanded art space reflects a national trend, driven by the desire of many museums to show off more of their collections and also to compete for tourist dollars. Cultural attractions are a magnet for visitors and DAM expects more than one million to explore the new wing this first year.

Public reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," said Hernandez. "It's a building that captures the energy and optimism of Denver and sets a new standard for civic architecture in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond."

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FREDERIC C. HAMILTON WING

The Japanese art collection: Kimiko and John Powers have the largest and most comprehensive collections of Japanese art outside of Japan. On display are about 120 works from the Powers collection, on loan to the Denver Art Museum. Scrolls, folding screens, sculpture and lacquerware span 12 centuries of work by artists and Zen priests. First floor. Through July 8.

"RADAR: Selections from the Logan Collection" celebrates Vicki and Kent Logan's amazing international vision and scope (as if by radar) today in the art world. On show are 70 works including art by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Kiki Smith. Provocative and compelling, the Logans' vision states "Art must reflect the social or cultural events of the time but also be visually arresting and contain powerful, engaging imagery." Second floor. Through July 15.

Impressionism Gallery: Works by Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, among others. Third floor.

The Daniel Yohannes Gallery: Tagged the most arresting space for its "collision" of angled walls and ceiling planes. The gallery houses the African art collection including the beautiful Ngil mask in wood and fiber, by an unknown Fang artist. Fourth floor.

Modern and Contemporary Galleries: 140 works including "Quantum Cloud XXXIII" by Anthony Gormley — a floating figure constructed from hundreds of interconnecting rods, and "Snow Flurry May 14," a classic Alexander Calder mobile that links the third- and fourth-floor galleries.

13th Avenue Prow is the most dramatic element of the building's exterior, especially for motorists and pedestrians. The prow cantilevers 176 feet out over West 13th Avenue at a 30-degree angle to the ground.

El Pomar Grand Atrium: The main reception area and entrance to the Hamilton Wing is the building's architectural centerpiece rising 118 feet to the fourth floor. A grand stairway leads visitors to the galleries disappearing behind sloping partitions. The stairwell is lit by a skylight and from top to bottom with "star" spotlights recessed into the angled walls.

Sculpture Deck: Step outside from the third-floor galleries on the west side of the building for panoramic views of Denver and the Front Range.

Outside: Not all the art is on the walls. On the front approach to the Hamilton Wing several major sculptures are on view.

"Spider," by Louise Bourgeois is on loan to DAM for two years. For Bourgeois, the spider is a feminine hero figure. She has created numerous spider sculptures to honor her mother who was, the artist says, like a spider — "deliberate, soothing and patient." The sculpture is installed outside the Hamilton Building's main entrance on Martin Plaza.

"The Big Sweep" by Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg depicts an outsize broom and dustpan. Made from stainless steel, illuminum and plastic, this child-friendly sculpture is pop art on a monumental scale.

The Museum Shop near the entrance has an extensive collection of posters, prints, architectural drawings, fine jewelry, ceramics, glass, basketware, books postcards and slides.

THE ARCHITECT — DANIEL LIBESKIND

Age: 61

Born: Poland, now lives in New York City

Prominent buildings: The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, England; the Michael Lee Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario; the Felix Nussbaum Memorial Museum in Osnabrueck, Germany; the Jewish Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark; the Jewish Museum in Berlin; the Wohl Centre at the University of Bar Ilan in Tel Aviv, as well as many commercial and residential projects around the world.

In the U.S.: The Denver Art Museum's Frederic C. Hamilton Wing, inspired by the Rocky Mountains, is Libeskind's first completed building in this country.

Ambitions for this project: To design a building in which the architectural spaces internally would flow from the museum's art and externally to resonate with the creativity and beauty of Denver.

In 2003: Libeskind won the competition for the master plan to rebuild the World Trade Center site.

On architecture: "The magic of architecture cannot be appropriated by any singular operation because it is always already floating, progressing, rising, flying, breathing ... The spirit of architecture wanders where it will."

IF YOU GO ...

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