Liu Wei’s Cut-Up and Reassembled Sculptures Take Over the Met Museum’s Facade
Chinese artist Liu Wei has installed a group of mixed-media sculptures on the facade of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, unveiled Thursday as part of a commission titled “Speculation / Λ (2026)” and related works including “Speculation / G (2026).” The sculptures, described as anti-monuments, range from nearly 9 feet to more than 16 feet tall and combine materials such as rawhide, resin, fiberglass composite, bronze, aluminum alloy, and steel into fragmented forms that merge biological, technological, and architectural references. ARTnews reports that Liu (born 1972) developed the project through layered digital collages in Photoshop placed over a photo of the Met’s facade, then translated them into small 3D maquettes before scaling up and cutting and reassembling forms in different materials. Liu, who graduated from the China Academy of Art in 1996, said he avoids sending a fixed blueprint to fabricators and instead worked with a team of 13 assistants and specialists using a flexible framework that he reviewed and adjusted during production.
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This story was covered in Sound Wars, Body Politics, and Museum Crackdowns