WASHINGTON, DC.- The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will reopen its outdoor sculpture garden to the public Monday, Aug. 17, marking the Washington, D.C., debut of two major outdoor sculptures by contemporary artists Huma Bhabha and Sterling Ruby. The new acquisitions join an array of more than 30 modern and contemporary works of art on display in the garden, which visitors will be able to enjoy with new health and safety measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The museum’s building and outdoor plaza remain temporarily closed to the public.

This reopening will take place as the Hirshhorn continues the public consultation process for a revitalization of its sculpture garden. Working with artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto, the museum undertakes this civic project to repair damaged infrastructure and create a universally accessible and dynamic space to serve a growing audience. This includes improvements to visitor amenities and more flexible exhibition spaces to provide a greater variety of programming, including performance art and large-scale new sculptural commissions, alongside intimate areas for the museum’s modern masterpieces.

“We are thrilled to welcome visitors back into our sculpture garden, a safe summer respite,” said Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu. “Our mission is to open the museum up to share the art of our time with as many people as possible. The reopening of our garden is one step closer to this ongoing objective, culminating in the garden’s redesign.”

Located on the National Mall, across from the Hirshhorn’s drum-shaped building, the 1.5-acre sculpture garden offers visitors a retreat in the heart of the nation’s capital. Visitors will be drawn into the newly reopened sculpture garden by Bhabha’s “We Come in Peace” (2018), a monumental sculpture standing more than 12 feet tall, greeting viewers at the garden’s Mall-side entrance. Ruby’s “DOUBLE CANDLE” towers at over 24 feet, located at the heart of the garden by the reflecting pool. "I am incredibly honored to have ‘DOUBLE CANDLE’ installed at the sculpture garden on the National Mall,” said Ruby. “The candles are simultaneously identifiable and abstract, holding a multitude of meanings and emotions. They stand for loss as well as love, they celebrate light and the eternal, while motioning towards an expiration. The placement of ‘DOUBLE CANDLE’ behind a reflecting pool creates space for a mirroring that extends the meaning of the work.”




Both artworks will soon be activated by Hirshhorn Eye (Hi), the museum’s free mobile video guide, along with Jeff Koons’ “Kiepenkerl.”