Liu Wei’s Met Facade Commission Reflects Our Moment
On view through next June, Liu's sculpture series “Speculation” (2026) contemplates the contradictory elements of collapse and civic transformation.
Beijing-born artist Liu Wei is returning to New York ten years after his last solo exhibition in the city, this time with a new collection of works commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art for its Genesis Facade. The exhibition, which will be on display through next June, features two monumental sculptures flanking the museum's main entrance, titled Speculation (2026).
These abstract sculptures blend elements of collapse and civic transformation. Made from metal and fiberglass composite materials, the works consist of biomorphic shapes balanced on vertical forms, with reflective surfaces and modernist spheres nestled within or balanced on top. The sculptures incorporate enormous hands as distorted mudras, symbolizing energy redirection in Hinduism and Buddhism, to emphasize humanity's role in making the imagined tangible.
At the base of each sculpture, Liu has included a stitched bovine rawhide that is tightly contoured along one abstract shape, while a matte black form resembling a fireplace mantle's decorative wooden scroll occupies the central position on the right-hand sculpture. Various industrial and interior finishes are used throughout the two-piece installation, creating a striking contrast with The Met's limestone façade and monumental Corinthian columns.
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