The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom

April 28 – November 29, 2009 (weather permitting)

American artist Roxy Paine (born 1966) has created a 130-foot-long by 45-foot-wide stainless-steel sculpture, especially for the most dramatic outdoor space for sculpture in New York City: the Museum’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. This ambitious undertaking, the twelfth installation of a solo artist’s work, is the largest sculpture ever installed on the roof of the Museum.

Giving viewers the sense of being immersed in the midst of a cataclysmic force of nature, Maelstrom (2009) is one of the artist’s Dendroids based on systems such as vascular networks, tree roots, industrial piping, and fungal mycelia. Set against Central Park and its architectural backdrop, the installation explores the interplay between the natural world and the built environment amid nature’s inherently chaotic processes.

Since The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden opened in 1987, annual installations have featured selections of modern sculpture from the Metropolitan Museum's collection and have included presentations of works by the artists Ellsworth Kelly, David Smith, Cai Guo-Qiang, Frank Stella, and Jeff Koons, among others.

Sandwiches, snacks, desserts, and beverage service—including espresso, cappuccino, iced tea, soft drinks, wine, and beer—are available at the Roof Garden Café daily from 10 a.m. until closing, as weather permits. A martini bar will also be open on the Roof Garden from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, when the Museum is open until 9 p.m.

The exhibition is made possible by Bloomberg. Additional support is provided by Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky. The exhibition is also made possible in part by Jill and Peter Kraus.

Roxy Paine, Maelstrom (detail), 2009. Courtesy
of the artist and James Cohan Gallery, New York.
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Teresa
Christiansen. Martini Bar photo: Jonathan Smith.