Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present ‘There Are No Words: Si Lewen’s Parade,’ a focused exhibition devoted to Si Lewen’s work ‘The Parade,’ at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York. The exhibition is listed in the museum’s upcoming programme for 2026–27, although the supplied listings give different dates for the presentation: the event record specifies October 1, 2026, through January 5, 2027, while The Met’s August 2026 exhibition newsletter lists September 17, 2026, through June 8, 2027.
The central work is identified in the newsletter’s image information as Si Lewen’s ‘The Parade,’ dating to around 1950. The work is described as made with manufactured charcoal, pencil, crayon, ink, scratching and hand-applied gesso on paperboard. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired it in 2024 through a purchase funded by the Estate of Louise Graham, the Lila Acheson Wallace and Mark Fisch and Jessica Kayll Gifts.
The exhibition’s title, ‘There Are No Words: Si Lewen’s Parade,’ places the work at the centre of a presentation rather than describing a broad survey of the artist’s career. The supplied material does not provide a checklist, installation details, curatorial statement or information about additional works, so the scope of the display cannot be established beyond its named focus on Lewen and ‘The Parade.’
Si Lewen is identified in the museum material as an American artist, with the caption giving his dates as 1918–2016. The work’s approximate date places it in the postwar period, but the available announcement does not specify the circumstances of its making, its subject matter or the interpretation that the exhibition will offer. No statements from the artist, curators or museum officials accompany the listing.
The presentation forms part of The Met’s upcoming exhibition schedule at The Met Fifth Avenue, alongside shows including ‘A King’s Carpet: Louis XIV and the Savonnerie,’ ‘The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei, Speculation’ and ‘Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous.’ These are separate exhibitions in the museum’s newsletter and are not described as part of the Si Lewen presentation.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newsletter describes the museum as collecting, conserving and presenting 5,000 years of world art. The Met Fifth Avenue is listed at 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. For the Si Lewen exhibition itself, the available event record gives the run as October 1, 2026–January 5, 2027, while the newsletter gives September 17, 2026–June 8, 2027.
