NYC's Metropolitan Museum showcases new sculptures on exterior facade

The Metropolitan Museum in New York contains endless delights for artlovers.

The building's Beaux-Arts exterior is considered by some as equally grand and in recent years, operators have begun to use four empty niches in the building's facade to showcase more art.

In the coming months, four new sculptures by South Korean artist Lee Bul will adorn the museum's exterior. The four abstract statues designed by the Seoul-based artist will be on display until May 2025.

"With a career that spans four decades, Lee is widely recognized as the preeminent artist from South Korea," the museum said.

"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."

Lee is only the fifth artist to fill the four niches on the exterior façade of the famous museum in Central Park.

Although the alcoves were intended to be occupied by sculptures when the museum was first built, they were only filled with artworks for the first time almost 120 years later.

In 2019, Kenyan-American artist Wangechi Mutu installed four different bronze sculptures inspired by the customs of African women.

Since then, a different artist has been commissioned by the museum to display their works every year.

In 2020, sculptures by Geneva-born artist Carol Bove were supposed to adorn the Met, but the exhibition was postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2022, works by Scottish-born artist Hew Locke, who grew up in Guyana, were installed in the niches, followed in 2023 by works by German-Iranian artist Nairy Baghramian.