Hirshhorn To Wrap Its Building With New Site-Specific Public Artwork by Nicolas Party

The Hirshhorn’s Museum announced that it’s exterior iconic cylindrical building will be the site of internationally renowned Swiss artist Nicolas Party’s newest artwork, debuting Sept. 18. “Draw the Curtain” (2021) will wrap 360 degrees around the temporary scaffolding that encases the museum building and will span a circumference of 829 feet, becoming the artist’s largest work to date. An original pastel painting digitally collaged and printed onto scrim. The work will be on view through spring 2022 while the building’s envelope undergoes critical repairs.
“Draw the Curtain” will comprise several anonymous faces partially hidden by draped curtains, gazing directly at the viewer no matter where they are viewing from around the building. Known for his unique visual language that simultaneously celebrates and challenges conventions of representational painting, Party steeps this work in art historical technique and symbolism. The featured portraits, painted in black and white, are based on classical sculpture, while the curtains, painted in shades of green, blue, yellow and red, are sampled mostly from 17th-century Dutch paintings.
The museum will reopen to the public on August 20, while “Draw the Curtain,” will debut on the National Mall Sept. 18