The Met unveils large-scale animal sculptures honoring Indigenous culture and the natural world

Portrait of Jeffrey Gibson by Eileen Travell; Jeffrey Gibson (American, born 1972). Installation view of “they plan and prepare for the future fvni / sa lo li/squirrel” for The Genesis Facade Commission: Jeffrey Gibson, “The Animal Therefore I Am,” 2025. Courtesy the artist, Silicon bronze with patina finish. Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photo by Eugenia Burnett Tinsley

Four large-scale bronze sculptures depicting animals have been installed outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created by artist Jeffrey Gibson , the installation, titled “ The Animal That Therefore I Am ,” has become a part of the museum’s iconic Fifth Avenue neoclassical exterior as the 2025 Genesis Facade Commission. The 10-foot sculptures reference animals, a hawk, a squirrel, a coyote, and a dee