The Met Unveils huge facade sculptures by Liu Wei in partnership with Genesis
Beijing-based artist Liu Wei stands in front of his sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Courtesy of Eileen Travell
Korean luxury automotive brand Genesis has unveiled its latest high-profile cultural initiative at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, filling the grand niches of the museum’s Fifth Avenue facade with four new monumental sculptures by Chinese artist Liu Wei.
“The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei, Speculation” opened Thursday (local time) and will remain on view through June 8, 2027, marking the third commission presented through Genesis’ multiyear partnership with the museum.
Liu’s four works — “Speculation / Λ,” “Speculation / G,” “Speculation / c” and “Speculation / h” — draw on architectural fragments and bodily forms assembled from fiberglass composite, steel, aluminum alloy, polyurethane paint and bovine rawhide.
The sculptures explore fragmentation, transformation and renewal, examining cycles of rupture and repair amid rapid social and cultural change.
The human hand appears throughout the commission as a recurring motif, connecting recognizable forms with more fantastical ones while reflecting Liu’s interest in transformation, perception and imagination.
Liu has worked across photography, painting, video, sculpture and installation since the late 1990s, developing an artistic practice that reinterprets abstraction, figuration and readymade forms.
The exhibition marks Liu’s first major museum presentation in the United States and is the seventh installment of The Met’s annual facade commission series, according to the museum.
The series began in 2024 with Korean artist Lee Bul, followed in 2025 by American artist Jeffrey Gibson, before turning this year to Liu’s work.
Genesis said the exhibition invites visitors to consider uncertainty and contradiction accompanying profound change while viewing The Met’s Fifth Avenue facade as a place for dialogue and discovery.
Max Hollein, director and chief executive officer of The Met, said Liu’s sculptures reflect his curiosity, innovation and humor and expand possibilities for the museum’s iconic facade.
An artist talk, “An Evening with Liu Wei,” is scheduled for Tuesday at The Met, offering a closer look at his artistic journey and the development of the commission.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.