Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is highlighting a series of assemblages by multimedia artist Julie Wolfe that were made for the catalogue accompanying The Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition 'Costume Art'. In collaboration with photographer Nathalie Agussol, Wolfe created the works to illuminate, in the museum’s words, the “relationality” of the garments and artworks featured in the exhibition.
The project appears in material circulated by The Met Store under the heading 'Costume Art', with the presentation framed as part of the publishing and merchandise ecosystem surrounding the exhibition rather than as a separate museum display. The source material identifies the assemblages as being seen in the 'Costume Art' catalogue and postcard pack, underscoring their role as image-making companions to the exhibition’s printed materials.
Wolfe’s involvement places a contemporary multimedia artist in direct dialogue with The Costume Institute’s curatorial platform. The assemblage format is especially apt for a project described as centring relationships among objects, since assemblage itself builds meaning through juxtaposition, layering and the bringing together of distinct elements. Here, that logic is explicitly tied to the exhibition’s mix of garments and artworks, suggesting a visual strategy that mirrors the catalogue’s interpretive aims.
The Met’s announcement also reflects the institution’s broader practice of extending major exhibitions into print, retail and promotional formats. The store copy points users to 'Shop the show' and to products including a 'Costume Art' postcard pack, as well as other exhibition-related items. Within that context, Wolfe’s images function not simply as illustrations, but as part of the exhibition’s public-facing visual identity.
The available source material does not name the specific garments or artworks represented in the assemblages, and it does not provide a detailed exhibition synopsis. What it does establish is that Wolfe worked with Agussol to create a series of assembled images that support the catalogue for a spring 2026 Costume Institute exhibition titled 'Costume Art'. The wording suggests an emphasis on interpretation and connection rather than straightforward documentation.
The project is also associated with The Met Store, whose newsletter-style communication directs audiences to the exhibition’s catalogue and related products. The mailing lists The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Met Store together with the 'Costume Art' title, keeping the project closely linked to the museum’s dissemination of the exhibition while remaining distinct from any claim about a physical installation space.
In the absence of further verified detail, the clearest facts are the collaboration itself, the exhibition title, and the catalogue context: Julie Wolfe and Nathalie Agussol created a series of assemblages for the catalogue accompanying The Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition 'Costume Art', and the works are presented as part of the museum’s 'Costume Art' catalogue and postcard pack.
