David Hammons: Day’s End

In 1975, Gordon Matta-Clark demolished a warehouse at Pier 52 in New York, leaving behind a testament to urban erasure. David Hammons takes up this challenge with ‘Day’s End,’ a monumental installation that now stands in Hudson River Park. This collaborative project between the Whitney Museum and Hudson River Park is a spectacular reinterpretation of Matta-Clark’s work, executed with striking precision. Hammons has reproduced the dimensions and location of the vanished shed, creating an open and ephemeral structure that invites contemplation of the landscape. The exhibition, free of charge, is enriched by a narrative podcast, ‘Artists Among Us,’ which explores the history of the neighborhood, the links between Matta-Clark and Hammons, and the communities that have shaped the city’s landscape. This unique project, the result of an international collaboration, is a reflection on memory, destruction, and the transformation of urban space. It fits into a broader approach to reinterpreting the history of the metropolis.