GENESIS CELEBRATES THE OPENING OF THE GENESIS FACADE COMMISSION: JEFFREY GIBSON, THE ANIMAL THAT THEREFORE I AM AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
- 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
SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.
Initiated in 2024, The Genesis Facade Commission is an annual exhibition that builds upon the Museum's contemporary art 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 last year's exhibition by renowned contemporary artist Lee Bul, Jeffrey Gibson, who represented the United States Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, presents four new bronze sculptures, which combines his cultural worldview with abstraction, patterning, materiality, and text this year.
This is his first major use of bronze at a monumental scale, each approximately three meters tall, expanding beyond material used in his earlier works. Cast elements such as wood, 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, a coyote, a squirrel, and a hawk — species native both to the Hudson Valley, where Gibson's studio 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 philosopher Jacques Derrida and reflects on the interconnectedness of all living beings 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 they might teach us, while remaining in dialogue with both the Hudson River Valley landscape and the urban ecology of Central Park.
Gibson, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, is widely recognized as a leading figure in contemporary Indigenous art and culture. Having grown up in the United States, Germany, and Korea, Gibson draws upon his diverse cultural identity to create interdisciplinary works spanning painting, performance, video, and curatorial practice. His art explores themes of human relationship and collective identity, often incorporating Indigenous aesthetics and traditional materials to propose new modes of abstraction, text, and color. Installed at the Museum's main entrance, the sculptures are covered with patinated abstract patterns that evoke beadwork and textiles, integrating motifs from Indigenous visual traditions into the bronze surfaces.
"The second exhibition of The Genesis Facade Commission invites the audience to 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 coexistence that the artist has been exploring."
"Jeffrey Gibson is one of the most remarkable artists of his generation and a pioneering figure within the field of native and Indigenous art," said Max Hollein, The Met's Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. "These new works are based on his signature use of unconventional materials and reimagined forms, employing them to explore often - overlooked histories and the natural world. We're thrilled to have his monumental sculptures installed on The Met's iconic Fifth Avenue facade through the second Genesis Facade Commission."
In celebration of the opening, an artist talk titled An Evening with Jeffrey Gibson will be held on September 15, offering an in-depth discussion of the 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 automotive brand that aims to deliver the highest standards of performance, design, safety, and innovation while looking towards a more sustainable future. Reflecting a commitment to authenticity, Genesis seeks to foster dialogue on issues that transcend spatial and temporal boundaries, inspiring people to discover the profound through the arts. Genesis Art Initiatives supports institutions and visionaries with an understanding 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 commissioned artworks 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 #GenesisArtInitiatives to learn more about our partnerships and 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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