This September—as the leaves in Central Park began to turn and the Metropolitan Museum of Art filled with school groups—artist Lee Bul gave the institution’s iconic main facade a new look.
Composed of four new sculptures, “Long Tail Halo,” curated by Lesley Ma, is the artist's first major project in New York in over 20 years and a definitive display of her four decade-long practice, which bridges artisanal and industrial modes of production. The warped figures, which tower in the niches of the Met’s entrance, are also the first installation under the newly renamed Genesis Facade Commission, a multiyear partnership between the Met and Genesis.
The global automotive powerhouse found a natural partner in the 154-year-old museum, which has long served diverse communities in New York and beyond through exhibitions of thought-provoking artists. Genesis, likewise, is committed to opening pathways for new perspectives and dialogues.
Each year, the Met invites an artist to create new, site-specific works in its facade niches for the Genesis Facade Commission. The project's architectural framing leverages a visual style that is in direct conversation with the history of the museum’s iconic limestone construction and artwork collection.
“We know that this museum is always being shaped, crafted, reimagined every day,” says David Breslin, the museum’s Leonard A. Lauder curator of Modern and Contemporary art. “The Genesis Facade Commission lets us see that action of the museum in real time. I hope that it is always a surprise.”
Beyond its partnership with the Met, Genesis is making its name as a staunch supporter in the creative realm, additionally fostering a new partnership in London with the Tate Modern.
The storied institution will present “The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh: Walk the House” from May 1 to Oct. 19, 2025. The survey includes three decades worth of sculptures, installations, and works on paper by the artist. The exhibition’s title, “Walk the House,” is drawn from the Korean expression hanok, and refers to a house that can be disassembled and reassembled at a new site, much like the fabric spaces Suh has designed. The 1 to 1 scaled replicas of his various home bases chart his travels from Seoul to New York to London, examining the relationship between architecture, space, the body, and memory.
“The Genesis Art Initiatives reflects Genesis's dedication to illuminating timeless values that transcend spatial and temporal boundaries,” adds DooEun Choi, art director of Hyundai Motor. “It aims to amplify the voices of renowned visionaries and invite the audiences to encounter a profound experience as part of everyday life.”
The initiative also builds on Hyundai Motor Group’s decade-long history of partnerships with global arts institutions, supporting the arts as a lens through which to broaden our understanding of humanity. As the company paves the way toward the future, the Genesis Art Initiatives seeks to collaborate with the cultural visionaries whose understanding of our times will resonate across generations.
And there's even more to anticipate in the coming years. In 2025, Colorado Springs-born artist Jeffrey Gibson—a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent—is set to craft The Genesis Facade Commission at the Met, composed of four sculptures that he characterizes as “ancestral spirit figures.”
Here's to more surprises—and more new beginnings.
