Nicolas Party: sunrise, sunset

Sunrises and sunsets are among the only moments in the day when we are reminded, as the sun appears and disappears at the edge of the sky, that the universe is vast and its measure of time infinite. Set into this perspective, everything that governs our daily lives suddenly seems petty. Stepping back from our frenzied times, and taking advantage of the Hirshhorn’s uniquely circular architecture, which functions as a monumental sundial, New York-based Swiss painter Nicolas Party has occupied the Third Level Inner Circle walls with finely painted landscapes, some borrowed from the genre’s historical repertoire, others of his own creation.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website