BS BULLETIN:
- The Kennedy Center removed Joel Shapiro’s towering 24-foot sculpture “Blue” from its grounds Wednesday, seven years after the work was installed at The REACH.
- The Kennedy Center called the move a “deinstallation” and said Shapiro’s foundation will determine where the sculpture goes next. A former Kennedy Center curator, however, says he was previously instructed to remove the outdoor artwork because President Trump wanted new art following the center’s renovation.
- The removal is the latest visible change at the Kennedy Center as Trump and his allies pursue a sweeping renovation and continue fighting in court over efforts to put Trump’s name on the institution.
One of the Kennedy Center’s most recognizable outdoor artworks has left the building — or, more precisely, the lawn.
Crews using a crane dismantled and removed “Blue,” the enormous bright-blue sculpture by acclaimed artist Joel Shapiro, from the Kennedy Center grounds Wednesday.
The 24-foot aluminum work resembles an abstract human figure caught in motion, with its arms extended and one leg kicked into the air.
Shapiro described the piece as being about “action and risk and performance and energy” and called it a “celebration of possibility.” It had occupied a prominent spot at The REACH, the Kennedy Center’s $250 million expansion overlooking the Potomac River, since 2019.
Shapiro died in 2025. The Kennedy Center did not announce the removal in advance, although the National Park Service issued a notice that nearby lanes of Rock Creek Parkway would be closed Wednesday morning at the center’s request for removal of the statue.
The Kennedy Center portrayed the move as a routine deinstallation. “We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years Blue has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision,” the center said in a statement. “We are honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work and a part of his enduring legacy.” The Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation will decide where the sculpture is installed next, according to the center.
But a former Kennedy Center curator offered a different explanation for why “Blue” is disappearing. Josef Palermo, who served as the center’s curator of visual arts and special programming until March, told The Washington Post that he was summoned to the office of then-Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell last year and instructed to “get rid” of the outdoor artwork. Palermo said he was told Trump wanted an entirely new collection when the Kennedy Center reopened following its planned renovations. Palermo said he did not recall Grenell specifically singling out “Blue.”
CNN reported a similar account from Palermo, who said he was told to remove the outdoor art because Trump wanted “all new art for the reopening.”
The sculpture’s removal comes amid a much larger transformation of the Kennedy Center. Trump replaced much of the institution’s board after returning to office and was subsequently elected chairman. The Trump-aligned board has also pursued efforts to place Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center, a move that has become the subject of an ongoing court fight.
The center is also slated for an extensive renovation involving its theaters, electrical and plumbing systems and public spaces. For “Blue,” at least, the renovation-era makeover has already arrived.
MY QUICK TAKE
You don’t have to understand modern sculpture to understand what happened here.
A 24-foot bright-blue stick figure that stood outside the Kennedy Center for seven years was wrapped up, dismantled and hauled away by crane.
The Kennedy Center says it’s a deinstallation. A former curator says Trump wanted new outdoor art.
Either way, “Blue” has officially been shown the door.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- The Hill — Kennedy Center removes Blue sculpture amid Trump renovations
- CNN via KEYT — Kennedy Center begins removal of outdoor Blue sculpture
- NOTUS — Kennedy Center removes Joel Shapiro’s Blue
- ABC/AP — Kennedy Center disassembles Blue sculpture
- Axios — Blue sculpture removed from Kennedy Center
