The Met unveils last rooftop commission until at least 2030

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its last commission for its rooftop until 2030. On view at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden through October 19, “Ensemble” by Jennie C. Jones includes large sculptures based on string instruments that play sounds activated only by the wind. Free with museum admission, the installation marks the 12th and final Roof Garden commission before work begins on the new five-story Tang Wing for modern art designed by Frida Escobedo.

“We are thrilled that Jennie C. Jones has brought her unique artistic vision to The Met’s iconic roof garden,” Max Hollein, the Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer at the Met.

“Elevated high above the sounds and rhythms of New York City, her innovative installation seamlessly combines form, color, line, and acoustics, challenging visitors to engage with sculpture in new and unexpected ways.”

The installation includes sculptures based on three string instruments, a trapezoidal zither, a tall Aeolian harp, and a doubled one-string piece leaning in opposite directions, and a bright red floor piece that serves as a “conductor” of the ensemble as well as the boundary of the stage.

The sculptures’ powder-coated aluminum surfaces feature concrete blocks resembling travertine, a material found in the Great Hall of the Met. The angles of the strings and the location of the turning hardware of the sculptures were partly inspired by visits Jones made to the museum’s Musical Instruments galleries.

No performers are needed for the installation as the wind will activate the strings.

In her past paintings, sculptures, audio compositions, and other works, Jones “uses sound to respond to the legacy of minimalism and to modernism itself,” as the museum notes.

For the zither, Jones created a reclining trapezoid with a slanted face, a hollow center, and strings lining the back, based on the shape of a sound absorber used in her “Bass Traps with False Tones” (2013).

The Aeolian harp draws on her only other outdoor sculpture, “These (Mournful) Shores” (2020), an instrument designed for the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachussetts and built into the architecture of the museum, according to a press release.

For the third sculpture, Jones was inspired by Mississippi-born musicians Moses Williams and Louis Dotson, who played unique blues music on the one-string piece by leaning the instrument upright.

Since 2013, the Met’s Roof Garden Commission series has featured work by contemporary artists that creates a conversation among the artist’s practice, the Met collection, the museum itself, and the audience. Last year, Kosovar artist Petrit Halilaj unveiled a series of sculptures inspired by schoolchildren’s doodles, and in 2023, Lauren Halsey combined the history of South Central LA with ancient Egyptian architecture.

“Ensemble” will be the final commission before the space closes in preparation for the construction of the Tang Wing. The series will resume following the opening of the new wing, which is expected in 2030.

As 6sqft reported last year, the $500 million Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing, named for the couple who gave a lead donation of $125 million, includes a three-story base, a recessed fourth floor, and a further set back fifth floor, a scaled exterior inspired by the 1971 masterplan from Roche Dinkeloo.

The 126,000-square-foot Tang Wing will replace the much smaller Lila Acheson Wallace Wing and will stay within the footprint of the existing building.

The project includes 18,500 square feet of outdoor space with views of Central Park and the skyline from the fourth- and fifth-floor terraces. The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden will move to the fourth-floor terrace and increase in size from 7,500 to 10,000 square feet.

Designed by Mexico City-based architect Frida Escobedo, the new wing will go through a public review process starting this year.

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