DAY’S END | David Hammons
New York City, NY - United States
ADDRESS:
South End of Gansevoort Peninsula, New York, NY 10014
ACCESS:
FREE: Unrestricted Public Space
DISCRIPTION:
Day's End by artist David Hammons is a monumental public artwork installed along the Hudson River in New York City, adjacent to the Whitney Museum. Inspired by Gordon Matta-Clark’s 1975 intervention of the same name, Hammons’ piece reimagines the ghost of a long-demolished pier structure. Constructed from slender steel tubing, the sculpture traces the outline of the former Pier 52 warehouse, forming an open, skeletal frame that hovers lightly over the water. It evokes memory, absence, and the passage of time, reflecting on the changing urban and cultural landscape of the waterfront. The work quietly honors the site’s past as a gathering place for marginalized communities, while offering a contemplative space in contrast to the city’s constant motion. With its minimal yet powerful presence, Day’s End merges architecture, history, and social commentary into a poetic gesture of remembrance and visibility.
NOTES:
The piece is a short walk from both the Whitney Museum and the Little Island and is well work a few minutes of your time if you are in the area. There is a beach directly next to the sculpture as well.
