Hirshhorn sculpture garden reopens after 4-year renovation
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Central Galleries and pool, including Hiroshi Sugimoto's "Passage of Reflectance." Photo: Rick Coulby. Courtesy: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
The Hirshhorn sculpture garden is reopening this weekend after a four-year renovation.
Why it matters: It's the biggest update to the museum since it opened in 1974, almost doubling the number of sculptures on display.
Driving the news: The revamped garden opens Saturday with two days of celebrations featuring the inaugural exhibit "Yoshitomo Nara: Sentinels of Stillness," running through next fall.
State of play: The 1.3-acre space was designed by artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto to better integrate with the National Mall, and it includes new works and spaces for education and programming.
- Almost 60 pieces are now on display — up from 35 — with new additions from big names like KAWS and Elmgreen & Dragset, as well as many from the original garden.
- A new piece by Sugimoto, "Passage of Reflectance," transforms a tunnel connecting the garden and the museum's plaza — and closed since the 1980s — into a funhouse-style pedestrian walkway with 90-foot-long parabolic walls made of stainless steel.
The East Lawn takes visitors through 20th-century modern sculpture and includes familiar works like Yoko Ono's "Wish Tree" and pieces by Auguste Rodin and Henri Matisse.
- Meanwhile, the West Lawn and Galleries will bring viewers into the 21st century via shifting exhibits and large installations, plus works by artists including Jeff Koons and Raven Halfmoon.
Plus: A revamped central gallery and reflecting pool create space for programming and performances, with a stage and seating.
- Fun fact: Part of the pool can be drained to create additional seating.
Zoom in: There's also a restored 60-foot-wide entryway to the garden from the National Mall, as well as five entrances (up from two).
- Plus: More seating, pathways and gathering spaces throughout, as well as almost 30,000 new plants and trees.
If you go: Check out an opening celebration Saturday including art activities, scavenger hunts, a photo station and artists' talks.
Coulby. Courtesy: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.