Exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ones Really Worth Going to:

Jeff Koons on the Roof
Through October 26, 2008 (weather permitting)
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden

On view is an installation of sculptures by American artist Jeff Koons (b. 1955), featuring three of the artist’s meticulously crafted works that have never before been on public display. The works are set in the most dramatic outdoor space for sculpture in New York City: The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, which offers a spectacular view of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. Beverage and sandwich service is available from 10:00 a.m. until closing, including Friday and Saturday evenings.

Café serving sandwiches, espresso, cappuccino, iced tea, soft drinks, wine, and beer open 10:00–8:15 (Friday, Saturday), 10:00–4:30 (Sunday, Tuesday–Thursday). Martini Bar open 5:30–8:30 (Friday, Saturday).

Provocative Visions: Race and Identity—Selections from the Permanent Collection
August 19, 2008–March 8, 2009
Modern Art, north mezzanine gallery

This installation features acquisitions made during the past sixteen years (1992–2007), many on view at the Museum for the first time. The thirteen sculptures, prints, and drawings by seven contemporary African-American artists—Chakaia Booker, Willie Cole, Glenn Ligon, Whitfield Lovell, Alison Saar, Lorna Simpson, and Kara Walker—confront issues of racial heritage and identity.






New York, N. Why?: Photographs by Rudy Burckhardt, 1937–1940
September 23, 2008–January 4, 2009
The Howard Gilman Gallery

In the late 1930s, Rudy Burckhardt—then a recent émigré to America from Switzerland—created what are today considered to be some of the greatest photographs of New York ever made. This exhibition will present in its entirety a unique album (acquired by the Museum in 1972) of 67 now-classic images of street furniture, outdoor advertising, and pedestrians, selected and sequenced by Burckhardt in 1940.
Accompanied by a facsimile edition of the album.