'There are many incredible things in the vaults, but I really wanted viewers to connect with some of the 'greatest hits' here at the Met. 'When I came and did my research here, I really wanted to focus on well-known works,' Monkman told reporters at Tuesday's preview. Resurgence of the People is one of two massive new works by Monkman, part of the installation mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People), on display in the Met's Great Hall. Monkman's two densely detailed, large-scale (3.36m-by-6.7m) paintings feature Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, his gender-fluid alter ego that the Met described as a 'supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples.' I was so thrilled to see them going up last night and really feel like they fit in this space.' 'As a painter, I wanted to make these massive monumental paintings that could really hold the spaces on these walls. 'To be commissioned here by the Met is a huge moment for me,' he said Tuesday during a media preview of the installation, mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People). Monkman is the inaugural artist to be featured in the Great Hall. Monkman, a member of the Fisher River First Nation in Manitoba, was in Manhattan Tuesday to help unveil two massive new paintings in the Met's main entrance.Ĭommissioned by the New York museum, the artworks are part of a series which invites contemporary artists to create new pieces inspired by art in the Met's collection. A bold commentary on North American history is one of the first things visitors to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will see for the next few months - and it comes courtesy of renowned Cree artist Kent Monkman.

Bold audacious