Ongoing
The Met
Michael Lin’s site-specific installation Pentachrome transforms The Met’s Great Hall Escalator into a captivating contemporary art experience, representing the artist’s inaugural exploration of this iconic space. Drawing inspiration from The Met’s rich collection and the architectural grandeur of the building itself, Pentachrome encourages visitors to revisit and rethink the relationship between the museum’s classical environment and the Asian artworks it houses.
For over a century, The Met’s Great Hall has prominently displayed Asian art, particularly Chinese ceramics, with a distinctive focus on the second-floor Balcony. This presentation has traditionally positioned Chinese art as ornamental components, complementing—and sometimes challenging—the imposing European architectural style. Despite the evolving curation of Asian art at the museum, this dynamic has remained largely unchanged. Lin’s installation critically reexamines and inverts this historical interplay between architecture and ornamentation, inviting a renewed perception and appreciation.
As visitors ascend the escalator, they become enveloped by dynamic, large-scale images of birds and flowers derived from two Qing-dynasty porcelain vases. These motifs are ballooned to a heroic scale, dramatically altering the visual landscape. Inspired by urban “wild posting” street art, Lin applies these images in a layered, irregular fashion, subverting the museum’s formal atmosphere with the spontaneous vibrancy of the street. This immersive setup encourages visitors to engage casually yet thoughtfully, sparking reflection on the paradoxical position of Asian art—both celebrated and marginalized—within the museum’s historical narrative.
Supported by the generosity of Barbara A. Wolfe and the Director’s Fund, Pentachrome stands as a bold statement on cultural dialogue and the evolving role of art in institutional spaces. The installation is a vibrant invitation to reconsider art and its surroundings, inspiring visitors to experience The Met’s Great Hall in a fresh and transformative way.
For further details, visit the official exhibition page at https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/michael-lin-pentachrome.
