Artist questions copycat chandeliers at Met Gala

Artist Willie Cole, whose works are currently being exhibited at The Met Museum, says he feels ‘ripped off’ by the Met Gala.

3 May 2023

Celina Lei

Visual Arts

Artist Willie Cole responds to Met Gala’s ‘blatant rip-off’ of his work. Image: Willie Cole via Instagram, original post by @haleywollens.

While fashion at the 2023 Met Gala has captured the attention of many netizens, some have been tagging The Met about its eco-friendly chandeliers.

These decorative highlights made of recycled water bottles are strikingly similar to the work of New Jersey-born, African-American artist Willie Cole.

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Celina Lei is an arts writer and editor at ArtsHub. She acquired her M.A in Art, Law and Business in New York with a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne.