Huma Bhabha and Sterling Ruby in revitalized Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden and plaza
Opening 31 October 2026
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C, USA
The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has revealed the commissioned artwork “Passage of Reflectance” (2026) by artist-architect Hiroshi Sugimoto, a site-specific installation that transforms the long-closed underground passageway between the Sculpture Garden and museum plaza into a light-filled, reflective pedestrian tunnel. At once a functional enhancement and an immersive artistic reimagining, “Passage of Reflectance” is a key element of Sugimoto’s wider revitalization of the Sculpture Garden, which opens to the public on Saturday, 31 October.
“The selection of an artist to remake the garden for other artists has resulted in a flexible spatial arrangement,” said Hirshhorn Acting Director Aaron Seeto. “We will reopen with almost 50% more sculpture from our global collection on view outside.”
The revitalized Sculpture Garden opening installation includes artworks by Hans (Jean) Arp, Huma Bhabha, Max Bill, Andrea Cascella, Willem de Kooning, Elmgreen & Dragset, Lucio Fontana, Elisabeth Frink, Theaster Gates, Alberto Giacometti, Mark Grotjahn, Raven Halfmoon, Lauren Halsey, Barbara Hepworth, Richard Hunt, Izumi Kato, KAWS, Jeff Koons, Gaston Lachaise, Liz Larner, Henri Laurens, Jacques Lipchitz, Aristide Maillol, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Yoshitomo Nara, Yoko Ono, Woody De Othello, Pablo Picasso, Chatchai Puipia, Pedro Reyes, Germaine Richier, Auguste Rodin, David Smith, Tony Smith, Tomonori Toyofuku and Sugimoto. Artists with work installed on the Hirshhorn plaza include Juan Muñoz, Sterling Ruby, Arlene Shechet and Lee Ufan, with sculptures by Barry Flanagan, Ellsworth Kelly and Beverly Pepper to come.