Check out the new rooftop installation on top of The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

I love the Met. One of the best memories I have, going to the Met was with my dear friend Dionne Cole. She was a wonderful mentor and companion who taught me how important it is to learn about everything from those naked Greek statues on the first floor to Lichtenstein. And of course, we can’t forget the wonderful Picasso. I am so excited for the reopening of this museum, another step back to normal. Please see details below on information for the Met Rooftop’s newest installation.

The outdoor piece by Mexican artist Hector Zamora turns the idea of “the wall” on its head.

By Shaye Weaver Posted: Thursday, August 27, 2020, 9:11 am

Soon enough, New Yorkers will return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s rooftop garden to take in views of Central Park and art set to an NYC sunset.

Installation view of Héctor Zamora (b. 1974, Mexico), The Roof Garden Commission: Héctor Zamora, Lattice Detour, 2020. Courtesy of the Artist. Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photo by Anna-Marie Kellen

Starting August 29, the Met’s Roof Garden commission, Lattice Detour by Lisbon-based Mexican artist Héctor Zamora, will be open to the public.

The piece is a wall made of terra cotta bricks from Mexico that was built by Mexican and Latin American bricklayers. Each brick was constructed so viewers can see through its middle, so when you stand on one side of it, you can still see the skyline. When the sun hits it, its shadow is a latticed pattern on the ground.

Lattice Detour isn’t subtle. It alludes to the infamous wall the Trump Administration has promised to build along the southern border and it aims to reflect the divisions in society over immigration but it also shows that we are all connected.

Installation view of Héctor Zamora (b. 1974, Mexico), The Roof Garden Commission: Héctor Zamora, Lattice Detour, 2020. Courtesy of the Artist. Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photo by Anna-Marie Kellen

“It’s a simple gesture to put a big wall on the Roof Garden,” Zamora said during a Wednesday preview of the piece. “It’s a reflection about something that is now part of our culture. It’s not a coincidence [the wall’s] layers were made by Mexicans and Latino Americans. It is quite symbolic and important in this specific time.”

Last year, the Roof Garden commission was Polish artist Alicja Kwade’s “Parapivot,” a pair of pieces that evoked the Solar System.