Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenNational Mall
Yoshitomo Nara: Sentinels of Stillness
Three towering white aluminium heads by Yoshitomo Nara, enlarged from small 2021 clay heads, open the revitalized Sculpture Garden's West Lawn series.
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Preview: written before the show opened
Three white heads, each a towering enlargement of a small clay head Yoshitomo Nara shaped by hand in 2021, now stand on the Hirshhorn's West Lawn. They are aluminum coated in white urethane paint, and the museum says they are meant to recall the snowdrifts of the winters Nara remembers from childhood. He was born in Hirosaki, in Japan's far north.
The trio are Long Tall Peace Sister, Smiling and Tiny Bright Round Eyes, all made in 2025. Nara turned to clay after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and Fukushima disaster left him unable to paint. You'll find them on a new open lawn in the rebuilt Sculpture Garden, ringed by recent acquisitions from Raven Halfmoon, Lauren Halsey and Liz Larner.
It's free, walk-up and outdoors, through 7 November 2027. The museum runs free public tours of the show, and on opening weekend, 31 October and 1 November, the garden has pop-up artist talks and art-making.
Look for
The three white heads
Long Tall Peace Sister, Smiling and Tiny Bright Round Eyes, each a towering aluminum head blown up from a small 2021 clay one; get close and watch how light moves on the white paint.
Good for
- An Hour Or Less
- Cheap Culture
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Image credits
7
- From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic ArtCourtesy of National Museum of Asian Art
- A Museum in the MakingAndrew Jameson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenGryffindor, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- National Air and Space Museumajay_suresh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- National Museum of Asian ArtDifference engine, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- National Museum of Natural Historyajay_suresh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- National Gallery of Artajay_suresh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0