This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
On September 13, 2019, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City unveiled a historic installation by Kenyan contemporary visual artist Wangechi Mutu.
Ms. Mutu's commissioned project, The NewOnes, will free Us, features four bronze sculptures titled The Seated I, II, III, and IV (2019), marking the first time an installation has been made at the museum's entrance in its 117-year history.
The exhibition, which will run until January 12, 2020, is part of a new series of contemporary commissions at The Met, where artists are invited to create new works of art inspired by the collection, establishing a dialogue between the artist's work, the collection, the space, and audiences.
Ms. Mutu's work engages in a critique of gender and racial politics, as described by The Met: "As with all of her work, these pieces engage in a critique of gender and racial politics that is as pointed as it is poetic and fantastic."
Ms. Mutu, known for her painting, sculpture, film, and performance work, said in a statement: "The poised, stately figures I have created...derive inspiration from my interest in ancient and modern practices that reflect on the relationship between women and power across various traditions... They have come to look and bear witness, and to reflect back to us what we are."
