Hirshhorn Museum to Open Yoshitomo Nara: Sentinels of Stillness with Three New Sculptures
The Facts
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC, has announced "Yoshitomo Nara: Sentinels of Stillness," an exhibition that will inaugurate its West Lawn with the opening of a revitalized sculpture garden. The exhibition, running from October 31, 2026, through November 7, 2027, features three new monumental artworks by Yoshitomo Nara: "Long Tall Peace Sister" (2025), "Smiling" (2025), and "Tiny Bright Round Eyes" (2025). Each sculpture is an enlargement of a small clay head created in 2021, fabricated in aluminum and coated in white urethane paint, evoking snowdrifts from the artist's childhood. Organized by curator Anne Reeve, the exhibition will be accompanied by free public tours and art education programs, with support from Iris and Adam Singer and Equivalence Art Agency.
The Signal
This exhibition marks a significant shift in Yoshitomo Nara's practice toward large-scale public sculpture, rooted in his return to hand-building with clay after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and nuclear disaster. The three towering heads, enlarged from palm-sized prototypes, demonstrate Nara's exploration of materiality and scale, while initiating a new annual Hirshhorn tradition of commissioning a leading global artist for the West Lawn. For collectors and curators, "Sentinels of Stillness" signals Nara's ongoing evolution from intimate works to monumental public installations, reinforcing his standing as a major contemporary figure whose work bridges ancient craft and contemporary themes of peace and resilience.
- Artists: Yoshitomo Nara
- People: Melissa Chiu, Anne Reeve
- Museums: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Locations: Washington, DC
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