The Genesis Facade Commission: Lee Bul, Long Tail Halo

For the 2024 Genesis Facade Commission, South Korean artist Lee Bul (born 1964, Yeongju, based in Seoul) has created four new sculptures that combine figurative and abstract elements. The Genesis Facade Commission: Lee Bul, Long Tail Halo is the artist’s first major project in the United States in more than twenty years and the fifth in the series of contemporary commissions for The Met Fifth Avenue’s facade niches.

With a career that spans four decades, Lee is widely recognized as the preeminent artist from South Korea. She is known for her sophisticated use of both highly industrial and labor-intensive materials, incorporating artisanal practices as well as technological advancements into her work. Her sculptures, often evoking bodily forms that are at once classical and futuristic, address the aspirations and disillusions that come with progress.

The Genesis Facade Commission is part of The Met’s series of contemporary commissions in which the Museum invites artists to create new works of art, establishing a dialogue between the artist’s practice, The Met collection, the physical Museum, and The Met’s audiences.

Presented by

Additional support is provided by the Korea Foundation, Janice Lee and Joseph Bae, Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky, the Director’s Fund, the Kahng Foundation, Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins, Helen Lee-Warren and David Warren, and Jerry Speyer and Katherine Farley.