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liu wei to transform the MET’s fifth avenue facade with site-specific sculptures in 2026

liu wei’s sculptures to take over the met facade in 2026

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announces that Beijing-based artist Liu Wei will create a new suite of four large-scale sculptures for its Fifth Avenue facade in New York, to be unveiled in fall 2026. The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei marks the artist’s first major presentation in the United States and the seventh iteration of The Met’s annual facade commission, an initiative that brings contemporary art directly into the public sphere.

designboom attended The Met’s press conference in Paris, where the artist was announced as the next participant in The Genesis Facade Commission. The event also featured architect Frida Escobedo, who presented the museum’s forthcoming Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing, her major expansion for The Met’s modern and contemporary art collection, set to open in 2030 (find designboom’s previous coverage here). 

Dimension (2021), installation view Art Basel 2022 Unlimited exhibition, image courtesy of Art Basel

reconfiguring urban fragments into monumental reflections

Liu Wei, known for his monumental sculptural installations that repurpose fragments from urban and historical environments, will engage the niches of the Met facade with works exploring cycles of rupture, resistance, mending, and creation. Using his distinctive language of reconfiguration and assemblage, the Beijing-based artist is expected to combine the raw and the refined, inviting viewers to reconsider the contradictions of contemporary life. ‘Liu Wei’s sculptures for The Genesis Facade Commission are sure to reflect the curiosity, innovation—and even humor—he is known for,’ shares Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French director and CEO. ‘This commission also reflects the spirit of The Met’s Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, opening in 2030, where global perspectives and boundary-pushing artistic practices like Liu Wei’s will be at the heart of how we present art of our time.’

Curated by Lesley Ma, Ming Chu Hsu and Daniel Xu curator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, the commission, on view from September 17th, 2026, through June 8th, 2027, situates Liu’s practice within the broader effort of the institution to expand its contemporary program. ‘To dialogue with the tremendous legacy of human civilization through The Met’s Genesis Facade Commission makes me so excited and anxious,’ notes Liu Wei. ‘What a challenge and a blessing.’

Liu Wei, Microworld (2018) | Installation view, Venice Biennale, Arsenale, 2019 | image by Roberto Marossi

a stage for free and public art

Since its inception in 2019, the facade commission has redefined how The Met introduces itself to the world using its monumental exterior as a site for free and public art. Previous installations have included Wangechi Mutu’s mythic bronze figures The NewOnes, will free Us (2019); Carol Bove’s metallic distortions The séances aren’t helping (2021); Hew Locke’s gilded reimaginings of power, Gilt (2022); Nairy Baghramian’s Scratching the Back (2023); and most recently, Lee Bul’s Long Tail Halo (2024) and Jeffrey Gibson’s The Animal That Therefore I Am (2025). Each commission invites artists to engage with The Met’s architectural and symbolic presence, forging links between history, material, and identity.

For Liu Wei, this commission extends his long-standing engagement with urban transformation and the fragmentation of the modern condition. A leading figure among Chinese conceptual artists of the late 1990s, Liu’s work, spanning sculpture, painting, video, and installation, uses everyday materials to expose the tensions of contemporary life. His practice, defined by assemblage and reconfiguration, transforms industrial and found elements into complex spatial systems that oscillate between chaos and control.

Nudità exhibition, installation view © Liu Wei | image © White Cube (Ollie Hammick)

the museum’s transformation toward 2030

The commission arrives as The Met prepares for a major architectural transformation with the construction of the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing, designed by Frida Escobedo. Set to open in 2030, the 11,706-square-meter addition will house the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art from 1890 to today. During the announcement in Paris, Escobedo reflects on the challenge of designing within the existing footprint of the historic institution. ‘The Met is composed of 21 individual buildings, constructed over 100 years. It’s very much like a medieval town, a collection of narrow streets and open plazas,’ she comments.

Her design draws from the logic of weaving, employing modular grids and screens. The Tang Wing will open new visual connections to Central Park through layered galleries, blending daylight, texture, and rhythm into the museum’s evolving architectural language. ‘We aim to create moments of surprise and contemplation, of encounter and reflection,’ Escobedo says, noting that the new spaces will bring the park’s landscape into dialogue with the city skyline and the museum’s interior.

installation view of Big Dog at Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq, 2016 | image by Wen-You Cai, courtesy Cai studio

Jeffrey Gibson, installation view of they carry messages between light and dark spaces bia̱kak / dawodv / hawk for The Genesis Facade Commission: Jeffrey Gibson, The Animal Therefore I Am, 2025 Courtesy the artist Silicon bronze with patina finish | image by Eugenia Burnett Tinsley | courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

installation view Lee Bul, Long Tail Halo: CTCS #1, 2024 | image by Sabrina Steck/BFA.com © BFA

Installation view Lee Bul, Long Tail Halo: The Secret Sharer II, 2024. courtesy the artist | image by Eugenia Burnett Tinsley courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Nairy Baghramian’s Scratching the Back (2023) | image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carol Bove’s The séances aren’t helping (2021) | image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Frida Escobedo presented the museum’s forthcoming wing | image ©designboom

project info:

name: The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei

artist: Liu Wei

curator: Lesley Ma, Ming Chu Hsu and Daniel Xu Curator, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Met

institution: The Metropolitan Museum of Art | @metmuseum

location: Fifth Avenue facade, New York, USA

dates: September 17th, 2026 – June 8th, 2027

previous artists: Wangechi Mutu (2019), Carol Bove (2021), Hew Locke (2022), Nairy Baghramian (2023), Lee Bul (2024), Jeffrey Gibson (2025)

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how can blind patients see and read again? scientists use eye implant with tiny solar cells

Eye implant with solar cells can restore vision 

Doctors and scientists at Science, a tech company started by Neuralink co-founder, show how blind patients can restore their central vision using an eye implant with tiny solar cells. Titled the PRIMA project, the study sees the creation of a retinal implant that can restore the central vision in people affected by geographic atrophy, which is a late stage of age-related macular degeneration. The latter causes the gradual loss of photoreceptor cells in the retina, leading to central blindness while leaving peripheral vision mostly intact. The PRIMA system combines a small eye implant with external glasses that can transmit light and data to the device using embedded solar cells in the retinal object. The PRIMA implant is a photovoltaic device that converts light into electrical signals. 

It is a square chip measuring 2 millimeters by 2 millimeters and only 30 micrometers thick and contains microscopic electrodes that act as artificial photoreceptors. It is surgically placed under the retina, in the area where natural photoreceptors have been lost due to geographic atrophy, and the system operates with a pair of glasses. These glasses capture visual scenes through a small camera mounted at the front, and the images are processed and converted into near-infrared light signals, which are projected onto the implant through the eye’s pupil. The implant absorbs this infrared light and transforms it into electrical impulses. These impulses stimulate the remaining retinal cells, which then send signals through the optic nerve to the brain. The result is the perception of shapes, letters, and objects in the central visual field, restoring the sight of the blind people affected by geographic atrophy.

all images courtesy of Science

Glasses with video signal help make the details clearer

The eye implant works like a miniature solar panel, or solar cells, with each of its pixels receiving light and producing an electric current. The photovoltaic surface is made from semiconductor materials similar to those used in solar cells, coated to prevent tissue reaction, and the entire chip is sealed to protect internal components from eye fluids. These signals stimulate the retinal neurons above the implant, which then ‘communicate’ with the brain’s visual cortex. It creates form vision, meaning that instead of just perceiving flashes of light, the user can identify defined shapes, letters, and words. Patients wear the glasses with a video processing unit, and the video signal is processed to improve the contrast and detail. Users can adjust a zoom function to magnify text or objects, allowing them to read printed material and recognize outlines or patterns in their surroundings.

The PRIMA system was developed from early research at Stanford University led by Professor Daniel Palanker. The clinical study tested the eye implant with solar cells on 38 patients at 17 hospitals in five countries, with the results showing that 80 percent of patients experienced meaningful improvement in visual acuity. Many participants were able to read letters, numbers, and words using the implant, and on average, patients showed a gain of 25.5 letters on the standard ETDRS vision chart after 12 months. The procedure also didn’t cause a decline in patients’ remaining peripheral vision. The implant was found to be safe for placement under the macula, and most side effects appeared within the first two months after surgery and resolved within the same period. Based on these outcomes, the study’s Data Safety Monitoring Board recommended approval of the PRIMA system for use in Europe, with the regulatory review being ongoing in both Europe and the US for usage. 

the glasses come with a video processing unit to improve the contrast and details of what the patients see

the photovoltaic material is embedded into the implant

view of what the patients can see (right)

the PRIMA system combines a small eye implant with external glasses

the PRIMA implant is a photovoltaic device that converts light into electrical signals.

project info:

name: Subretinal Photovoltaic Implant to Restore Vision in Geographic Atrophy Due to AMD / PRIMA

company: Science Corporation 

study: here

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light festival noor riyadh illuminates city with interactive installations ‘in the blink of an eye’

noor riyadh returns from 20 November to 6 December

In Riyadh, creativity is reshaping the very fabric of the city as Noor Riyadh, the world’s largest festival of light and art and part of the Riyadh Art program, is transforming the Saudi capital from 20 November to 6 December. Curated under the theme ‘In the Blink of an Eye,’ the fifth edition of the festival captures Riyadh’s rapid urban transformation through over 60 large-scale, light-based installations by both local and international artists. 

Before the main lights of Riyadh come alive, Noor Riyadh joins forces with the Fondazione Querini Stampalia to present a capsule exhibition in Venice from October 19 to November 23, 2025. Installed within the iconic Carlo Scarpa-designed spaces, the show offers international audiences an early glimpse of Noor Riyadh 2025, underscoring the enduring dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Italy.

globally recognized as the largest light art festival in the world, Noor Riyadh 2025 returns from November 20 to December 6 (PALACE OF LIGHT by Robert Wilson, created for Noor Riyadh 2021 at the At-Turaif World Heritage Site | all images courtesy of Riyadh Art

the light festival spreads across riyadh

Since its launch in 2021, Noor Riyadh has attracted over nine million visitors and evolved into one of the world’s most ambitious public art platforms. Each year, the festival invites artists from across the globe to craft site-specific installations and immersive experiences that reimagine Riyadh’s public spaces, from parks and plazas to bridges and transit corridors.

The 2025 edition is curated by Mami Kataoka (Curatorial Advisory Lead), Sara Almutlaq (Curator), and Li Zhenhua (Curator). Their curatorial approach embraces kinetic sculpture, interactive environments, and technology-driven works to reflect the movement and energy of the city. During these days, walkways glow underfoot, while towering kinetic sculptures rotate and shimmer, mirroring the rhythms of daily life and the city’s swift evolution.

under the theme ‘In the Blink of an Eye,’ this edition celebrates Riyadh’s pace of transformation (Earth by SpY, Noor Riyadh 2022)

from the metro to the center in the blink of an eye

The theme, ‘In the Blink of an Eye,’ reflects Riyadh’s astonishing pace of growth and transformation – at light speed. The festival’s artworks bridge the past and present, connecting history to a futuristic infrastructure. In the historic core, installations illuminate centuries-old landmarks, inviting reflection on memory and place. Meanwhile, Riyadh Metro stations act as cultural nodes, hosting large-scale works that visualize the rhythm of daily life in the city. Through these experiences, light becomes a vehicle for storytelling, tracing movement, connection, and the dynamic evolution of a modern metropolis.

With each edition of Noor Riyadh, we witness how light becomes more than a medium – it becomes a mirror of the city’s transformation. “In the Blink of an Eye” captures the pace at which Riyadh is evolving, not just physically, but culturally. This festival is about more than illuminating spaces; it’s about connecting people, stories, and ideas across time and place. It reflects our ambition to make creativity a lived experience for all,’ says Nouf Almoneef, Director, Noor Riyadh.

the festival offers a visual journey that links the city’s historical past with its bold, technological future (Submergence by Squidsoup, Noor Riyadh 2021)

As a preview to the main program, Noor Riyadh extends its reach to Europe with a capsule exhibition at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice, running October 19–November 23, 2025. Set within the iconic spaces designed by Carlo Scarpa, the presentation introduces international audiences to the festival’s forthcoming theme and curatorial vision featuring four artists also participating in Noor Riyadh 2025.

Ayoung Kim highlights the Riyadh Metro as both infrastructure and cultural platform; Wang Yuyang explores Riyadh’s illuminated technological development; Abdelrahman Elshahed bridges Venice and Riyadh through calligraphy; and a tribute to the late Safeya Binzagr (1940–2024) introduces Italian audiences to one of Saudi Arabia’s pioneering modernists.

Noor Riyadh extends its reach to Europe at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice set within the iconic spaces designed by Carlo Scarpa

The festival is part of the broader Riyadh Art program, one of the city’s four mega projects launched under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to embed creativity into the everyday life of the capital. To date, Riyadh Art has brought together more than 500 artists and delivered over 6,500 community engagement activities, contributing to a growing collection of public artworks across the city.

Notably, the Riyadh Art Collection includes major works by artists like Alexander Calder, Jeff Koons, and Robert Indiana, whose sculptures are now iconic landmarks at metro stations and city squares. Additionally, new commissions like ‘Echoes of Land’ by Davide Rivalta invite urban communities to re-engage with nature through public bronze forms in Riyadh’s parks. These installations form part of a long-term vision: to make art accessible, participatory, and integrated into everyday life.

the festival unfolds across two distinct yet interconnected narratives (Earthtime 1.26 Riyadh by Janet Echelman, Noor Riyadh 2023. )

In 2026, the narrative shifts from light to material in Tuwaiq Sculpture, returning under the theme ‘Traces of What Will Be.’ Set within Riyadh’s Tahlia District, once home to the city’s first desalination plant, the symposium transforms an industrial landscape into a creative workshop. The program allows visitors to observe sculptors working live, chiseling, welding, and shaping works from local stone and reclaimed metal.

These materials, chosen for their embedded histories, link geological time with industrial memory. The resulting sculptures are being permanently installed across key districts, including Qasr Al-Hukm, forming a dispersed museum that maps Riyadh’s evolution in stone and steel. 

through the festival, light becomes both medium and metaphor (Future Herbarium by Laurent Grasso, Noor Riyadh 2023)

kinetic sculptures and interactive environments trace the movement of people, visualize connectivity, and reflect Riyadh’s dynamic evolution (Infinity Mirror Room—Brilliance of the Souls by Yayoi Kusama, Noor Riyadh 2021)

walkways glow underfoot, while towering installations rotate and shimmer (Submergence by Squidsoup, Noor Riyadh 2021.)

Noor Riyadh invites residents and visitors to experience the capital in a new, illuminated dimension (Ghosts of Today and Tomorrow by Ahaad Alamoudi, Noor Riyadh 2022)

project info:

name: Noor Riyadh 2025 | @noorriyadhfestival

organization: Riyadh Art

curation: Mami Kataoka, Li Zhenhua, and Sara Almutlaq

dates: 20 November – 6 December, 2025

location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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TETRO elevates house on concrete tree-like columns above the hills of belo horizonte, brazil

TETRO stacks four-level residence on a steep slope in brazil

Overlooking the Serra do Curral mountain range in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Lua House by TETRO is composed of a vertical sequence of terraces. The residence is built on a sharply inclined plot and organized into four stacked levels, each one designed as a belvedere, making it seem like it hovers.

The upper volume rests on four branching concrete columns that recall tree trunks, a gesture that allows air, light, and vegetation to circulate beneath. The suspended block is enveloped by a metallic brise-soleil that reads as a monolithic mass from the outside and filters sunlight and casts evolving shadows across the interior.

all images by Luisa Lage

Lua House hovers between land and sky, aligned with the moon

A transparent atrium at the entrance acts as a transition zone between the dense urban fabric and the openness beyond. From this glazed pause space, the entire panorama of Belo Horizonte is revealed, while the vertical circulation connects the sequence of volumes above and below. Brazilian firm TETRO places the private areas, including the master suite and bedrooms, on the upper block, while two additional rooms complete the family’s program on this level. One floor down, the living room and kitchen extend outward toward a wooden deck and swimming pool. The lowest level, more reserved, contains the service spaces and an office, yet still keeps the horizon in sight.

The project’s name and orientation stem from the residents’ fascination with the moon, which rises behind the mountains that define Belo Horizonte’s skyline. Each evening, this celestial event becomes part of domestic life. The view turns into an experience, the architecture into a lens through which to witness it.

Lua House by TETRO is composed of a vertical sequence of terraces

the metallic brise-soleil reads as a monolithic mass from the outside

built on a sharply inclined plot

the upper volume rests on four branching concrete columns

allowing air, light, and vegetation to circulate beneath

a transparent atrium at the entrance acts as a transition zone

the project’s name and orientation stem from the residents’ fascination with the moon

the living room and kitchen extend outward toward a wooden deck

TETRO places the private areas on the upper block

project info:

name: Lua House

architect: TETRO | @tetro.architecture

location: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

plot area: 477 square meters

total built area: 455 square meters

architects in charge: Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes, Igor Macedo

collaborators: Gregório Magno, Bianca Carvalho, Bruno Bontempo, Giovanna Giacomo, Luisa Lage, Carolina Amaral

construction: Real Construtora

structure: MVE Estruturas

hydraulic: Alexandre José Gonçalves

electrical: Antonio Sergio de Carvalho (FASE Engenharia e Projetos LTDA)

lighting design: Gilza Carvalho

windows, skylights & brise-soleil: Vitarka Esquadrias

interiors: Ana Flávia Souza Silva

granite: Pedras Paraná

vinyl flooring: Komlog

woodwork: Armários Nobre

automation: Josimara Andrade

wooden deck: Macal Madeiras

pool installation: Tecnosolar

landscaping: Nativa

photographer: Luisa Lage | @luisaglage

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