Yoshitomo Nara: Sentinels of Stillness

Globally renowned artist Yoshitomo Nara inaugurates the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden’s West Lawn with “Sentinels of Stillness.” The exhibition of three monumental artworks emphasizes the interplay between the artist’s life experience and sculpture’s premodern foundation: hand-building with clay.

The installation introduces new sculptures: “Long Tall Peace Sister” (2025), “Smiling” (2025), and “Tiny Bright Round Eyes” (2025), each a sculptural enlargement of a small clay head created in 2021. Fabricated in aluminum and coated in white urethane paint, the towering heads evoke the snowdrifts that the artist recalls from his childhood winters. On closer inspection, the trio demonstrate the artist’s attention to material and the play of light. The forms invite curiosity, contemplation and rest; they are emblematic of the artist’s intention to forward a spirit of peace.