The Genesis Facade Commission: Jeffrey Gibson, *The Animal That Therefore I Am*

Acclaimed artist Jeffrey Gibson (born 1972) invites reflection on the interconnected relationships between all living beings and the environment for the 2025 Genesis Facade Commission. Drawing from his distinctive style fusing Indigenous worldviews and imagery with abstraction, text, and color, Gibson has created four-large scale figurative animal sculptures for The Met Fifth Avenue's exterior: a deer, coyote, squirrel, and hawk. For Gibson, these forms establish an important connection between where he lives and works in the Hudson Valley and Central Park, home to The Met. Additionally, Gibson is interested in rethinking our understanding of the non-human world, hoping to encourage newfound awareness and even empathy towards animal life. An interdisciplinary artist who grew up in the United States, Germany, and Korea, Gibson is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and is of Cherokee descent. His expansive body of work ranges from hard-edged abstract paintings to performance and filmmaking and also includes significant contributions as a convener and curator. Gibson's practice consistently reveals new possibilities. Drawing on a broad range of recurring sources, materials, and imagery, he often critiques the reductive ways Indigenous culture has been historically flattened and misappropriated.