WASHINGTON, DC.- Newly commissioned site-specific installations from acclaimed emerging and established global artists Elias Sime, Shahzia Sikander, Sandra Cinto, and the late Sam Gilliam are now on view at the recently opened 435,000-sq-ft Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Each of the monumental works at the new cultural and academic facility draw inspiration from the Center’s location at the crossroads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government and reflect the building’s mission to foster dialogue and a global exchange of ideas across a wide range of viewpoints.

The large-scale installations include one of the final works on canvas by the late D.C. artist Sam Gilliam and the first work—a floor-to-ceiling hand painted tile mural—in D.C. from Brazilian artist Sandra Cinto. The other two pieces were created by artists who will present solo exhibitions at the upcoming Venice Biennale in April 2024, Elias Sime, who for the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, created his most ambitious permanent work to date, a 2,000-sq-ft reclaimed e-waste installation; and Shahzia Sikander, whose glass mosaic mural covers the entire north wall of the seventh-floor café space. Selected for their distinctive voice and cultural heritage, the artists commissioned by Johns Hopkins reflect the Center’s global perspective as the University’s portal to the nation’s capital and beyond.

“Art is integrated into the building’s DNA to remind us that the arts and humanities play a vital role in how we explore and communicate the human condition in the academic enterprise of research, discovery, and teaching,” said Cybele Bjorklund, Executive Director, Hopkins Bloomberg Center. “The commissions from artists who have shaped and are continuing to shape the contemporary art world speak to the spirit of Pennsylvania Avenue as ‘America’s Civic Stage’ where people who care deeply about the issues of the day are drawn to make a difference. The integration of these commissions into our state-of- the-art facility for learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and convening will enhance JHU’s academic programs and commitment to research, education, and public engagement.”

Woven into the very fabric of the redesigned former Newseum space, the permanent works are located in the Center’s central, dynamic atrium; the eastern landing on the second floor; and the seventh-floor terraced café that looks out to Pennsylvania Avenue with views beyond to the Capitol building. The works on the ground and second floor are on view to the public.

The four large-scale works of art at the Center are:

A Lovely Blue And! by Sam Gilliam (b. 1933 d. 2022, Tupelo, Mississippi). Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

Among one of the final works created by Sam Gilliam in the months before his death A Lovely Blue And ! encapsulates Gilliam’s belief in the efficacy of abstraction and the value of risk-taking. On public view in the Center’s pre-function space on the ground floor, the monumental 96" × 240" painting exemplifies Gilliam’s expanded notion of the canvas as a three-dimensional object, showcasing the signature beveled- edge format he debuted in the 1960s and returned to in his later years. The composition was created using a broad range of acrylic paints, freely mixed with powdered metals, sawdust, and other unconventional materials. Sam Gilliam—a prolific Washington, D.C. artist—is one of the great innovators of Post-War American Art and was a leading member of what has come to be known as the Washington Color School of the 1960s.

Roots by Elias Sime (b. 1968, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). Reclaimed woven wires and electronic parts.

Spanning more than 2,000 square feet, Roots is Elias Sime’s most ambitious work to date, wrapping around the exterior of the Hopkins Bloomberg Center ground floor theater. The installation is composed of an assemblage of joined and woven discarded electronic objects, repurposing the relics of global consumerism as alternatives to oil paint, acrylic, or clay. Sime coaxed the detritus into assemblages that abstractly suggest topography or a landscape when viewed from above; circuits and keyboards are laid out into distinct fields and wires are coiled and braided into textile-like patterns. Roots deals with issues that the artist has grappled with for over a decade, notably the detrimental impact of technology’s hyperconnectivity on personal interactions.

Metaxu by Shahzia Sikander (b. 1969, Lahore, Pakistan). Glass mosaic mural.

Inspired by the parallels between the pixelated and natural world, Shahzia Sikander balanced traditional and contemporary approaches to making in Metaxu (2023), her glass mosaic mural that spans the entire north wall of the seventh-floor café that has views beyond its landscape terraces to the Capitol. Sikander’s title, the Greek word metaxu, has been translated to mean between or in between. The landscape of Metaxu similarly occupies dual realms, evoking the natural world and the human impulse to sculpt it into an idealized paradise. The mural also epitomizes Sikander’s masterful balance between the traditional and the contemporary, mirroring the interdisciplinary and cultural engagement embraced by the Hopkins Bloomberg Center’s curricula and programs.

Let Freedom Ring by Sandra Cinto (b. 1968, Santo André, Brazil). Ceramic tile mural.

Sandra Cinto’s Let Freedom Ring, a floor to ceiling hand-painted ceramic tile mural located on the eastern wall of the second floor and visible from the Center’s open central atrium, draws inspiration from Hopkins Bloomberg Center’s location, acknowledging Washington, D.C.’s role as the center of democracy with the text “From Every Mountainside Let Freedom Ring,” from the patriotic song My Country, ‘Tis of Thee embossed on the mural tiles, while also evoking imagery from the natural world and musical notation. The mural’s tiles were cut by hand, then hand painted, and fired and glazed multiple times. Cinto crafted her mural in collaboration with artisans at Antigua Ceramic, a workshop on the outskirts of São Paulo, rendering many of the finer details and line work of her imagery using an etching technique.

The artwork on display at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center is just one aspect of the Center’s cultural offerings for downtown D.C. Public programming at the Center includes free daytime and evening classical, opera, and jazz performances from a variety of artists, presented in a cutting-edge 375-seat theater. The Irene and Richard Frary Gallery, to open later this year, will offer rotating presentations drawn from the extensive Frary Collections at JHU, and special exhibitions in partnership with leading museums and collections.