Petrit Halilaj will transform the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden with a sprawling sculptural site-specific installation.
For the Roof Garden Commission—the tenth in the series of site-specific commissions for the outdoor space—Halilaj will transform the roof with a sprawling sculptural installation. The artist’s work is rooted in his biography, deeply connected to the history of the young country of Kosovo (declared an independent nation in 2008)—and his experience living through the war and conflict in the Balkan region in the 1990s as a child refugee. Halilaj uses art as a critical tool to reflect and investigate identity issues, questions of displacement, the interface of personal and global histories, and queer identities.
“Petrit is a true scenographer of collective memories linked to his homeland... He is a master at bridging that gap, and at juggling memories and imagination as equally fragile.” —Iria Candela
Read Met Announces 2024 Art Commissions from The New York Times.