UPPER EAST SIDE, NY – The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that its galleries dedicated to the Arts of Oceania will reopen on May 31, 2025, after a multi-year renovation.
Shuttered since January 2021, the re-imagined space in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing will showcase over 650 works from Oceania, drawn from more than 140 distinct cultures.
These include a significant collection of work from New Guinea – the second-largest island in the world – as well from across the Pacific, Australia, and the islands of Southeast Asia, who are “deeply connected, not separated, by the ocean,” according to a press release.
A new layout will foreground interactions between peoples, and the entire space will be filled with natural light.
“The Met’s collection of Oceanic art is unusually expansive in terms of breadth and range. This gives us a rare opportunity to present art from across the entire region of Oceania, astonishing artworks that were created in the last 500 years by descendants of the early Austronesian-speaking voyagers who settled this last region of the world in waves of migration that began 3,500 to 5,000 years ago,” said curator Maia Nuku.
“The conceptual framing of our new galleries for Oceania responds directly to the unique spatial and relational dynamics of Oceania: horizon lines, the arching dome of the sky, and islands tethered in a vast ocean – these are the coordinates that guide and shape life in this compelling landscape. The dynamic new layout is enhanced by architectural features specifically designed to frame the installation of artworks in vertical and horizontal planes. This formal arrangement for landmark works provides strong visual cues that emphasize connectivity and speak directly to the distinctive ways that Oceanic peoples approach life and use art to navigate physical and spiritual worlds.”
The Met will host an opening festival to celebrate the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing in May 2025.
Source link : https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/met-s-oceania-galleries-reopening-after-four-year-wait
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Publish date : 2024-10-07 17:13:31
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