— The second Genesis Facade Commission, a multi-year partnership between Genesis and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, to be on view through June 9, 2026
— The exhibition presents four new site-specific works by interdisciplinary artist Jeffrey Gibson
— Genesis Art Initiatives continues to deepen its collaboration with institutions and visionaries with an understanding of contemporary challenges and timeless values
Genesis today shared that as part of the multi-year partnership with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Genesis Facade Commission: Jeffrey Gibson, The Animal That Therefore I Am, will be on view at the Museum's Fifth Avenue facade through June 9, 2026.
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Initiated in 2024, TheGenesis Facade Commission is an annual exhibitionthat builds uponthe Museum's contemporaryart commissions on the Fifth Avenue facade since 2019. An artist is invited each year to create new site-specific works of art, inspiring authentic engagement between the artist,The Met's audience, and the broader global art world.
Following lastyear'sexhibition byrenowned contemporary artist LeeBul, JeffreyGibson, who represented theUnited States Pavilionatthe 60th Venice Biennale, presents fournew bronze sculptures, which combines his cultural worldview with abstraction, patterning, materiality, and text this year.
This ishis first major use ofbronze ata monumental scale, each approximately three meters tall, expanding beyond material usedin his earlier works. Cast elements such aswood, beads, and cloth are incorporated to create texture, forming animal figures that bring together the animate and the inanimate.The four works depict a deer, acoyote, asquirrel, and a hawk – species nativeboth to the Hudson Valley, where Gibson'sstudio is located, and to Central Park, home to The Met.
The subtitle, The Animal That Therefore I Am, is taken from the 2002 book by French philosopherJacquesDerrida and reflectson the interconnectednessof all livingbeings and the environment. By referencing Derrida's text, the works highlight how animals have been forced to adapt to human environments,inviting us to consider what they endure and what theymight teach us, while remaining indialogue with both theHudson River Valley landscape and the urban ecology of Central Park.
Gibson,a member of the Mississippi Band of ChoctawIndians and of Cherokee descent, is widely recognized as a leading figure in contemporaryIndigenous art and culture.Having grown up in the United States, Germany, and Korea, Gibson draws upon his diverse cultural identity to create interdisciplinaryworks spanning painting,performance, video, and curatorialpractice. His art explores themes of human relationshipand collective identity, often incorporatingIndigenous aesthetics and traditionalmaterials to propose new modesof abstraction, text, and color. Installed at the Museum's main entrance, the sculptures are covered withpatinated abstract patternsthat evokebeadwork andtextiles, integratingmotifs from Indigenous visual traditionsinto the bronze surfaces.
“The secondexhibitionof TheGenesis FacadeCommissioninvites theaudienceto engage with the enhanced relationships between living beings, nature, and urban surroundings as envisioned by Jeffrey Gibson,” said DooEun Choi, Art Director of Hyundai Motor. “The newly commissioned artworks continue to inspire dialogues on cultural diversity and the value of coexistencethat the artist has been exploring.”
“Jeffrey Gibson isone ofthe mostremarkable artistsofhis generationand apioneering figure withinthefield ofnative andIndigenous art,”said Max Hollein,TheMet'sMarina KellenFrench Director and Chief Executive Officer. “These new works are based on his signature use of unconventionalmaterialsand reimaginedforms,employingthemtoexplore often- overlooked histories and the natural world. We're thrilled tohave his monumental sculptures installed on The Met's iconic Fifth Avenue facade through the second Genesis Facade Commission.”
Incelebration ofthe opening,anartist talktitled An Evening withJeffreyGibson willbeheld onSeptember15, offering anin-depth discussion ofthe artist's creative journey and the new commission.
Genesis Art Initiatives continues to expand its collaboration with leading institutions and visionary artists to inspire profound cultural dialogues with the wider world, including The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh: Walk the House at Tate Modern, which will run through October.
About Genesis and Genesis Art Initiatives
Genesis is a global automotivebrand that aims to deliver the highest standards of performance, design, safety, and innovation while looking towards amoresustainablefuture. Reflecting a commitment to authenticity,Genesis seeks to foster dialogue on issues that transcend spatial and temporal boundaries, inspiring people todiscover the profound through the arts. Genesis Art Initiatives supports institutionsand visionaries with anunderstanding of contemporary challenges and timeless values. The initiatives include The Genesis Facade Commission at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a multi-year partnership presenting newly commissionedartworks on the niches of The Met's main entrance facade, and The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh: Walk the House at Tate Modern, a comprehensive exhibition of the prominent artist. Visit www.genesis.com/art.html or follow @genesis_worldwide #GenesisArtInitiativesto learn more about our partnershipsand programs.
About The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens- businessmen and financiers as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day-who wanted to create a museum to bring art and art education to the American people. Today, The Met displays tens of thousands of objects covering 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City- The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online. Since its founding, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum's galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.
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