Liu Wei Fills The Met’s Facade with Four Giant Sculptures: ‘Speculation’ Opens in New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has unveiled four new giant sculptures by Chinese artist Liu Wei, which have now taken their place in the niches of its iconic Fifth Avenue facade. The installation “The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei, Speculation” opened on September 17, 2026 and will remain on view until June 8, 2027.

The four sculptures are named after four fundamental constants of physics: Speculation / Λ, Speculation / G, Speculation / c and Speculation / h. Made of fiberglass composite, steel, aluminum alloy and polyurethane paint — with cowhide incorporated into one of the works — the sculptures combine architectural fragments and bodily forms, as if hastily stitched together and squeezed into the niches. The two central works flanking the main entrance are monumental in scale, while the two others, at the edges, are more delicate.

The recurring motif throughout the commission is the human hand: a form with rich artistic, cultural and symbolic associations across time and space, which according to the museum serves as a point of connection between the known and the fantastic. The artist himself describes his vision as “a pile of still-life objects roughly stitched together.” “Our reality is an enigma built by time. I want to answer it with an enigma. This, for me, is what is true,” said Liu Wei.

“Liu Wei’s sculptures for The Genesis Facade Commission reflect the curiosity, innovation and — above all — the daring for which he is known,” said Max Hollein, director of the Metropolitan Museum. The commission is the seventh in the museum’s annual facade series and the third under the multi-year partnership with Genesis, as well as Liu Wei’s first major presentation in the United States, following solo exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Cleveland over the past decade.

On the occasion of the opening, on Tuesday, September 22, the museum is organizing the talk “An Evening with Liu Wei,” a meeting with the artist about his creative journey and the conceptual development of the commission.

Source: Hyperallergic (see also the official Met page)