"Day's End" by David Hammons is a monumental public installation, both a physical structure and a conceptual piece, that graces the waterfront of the Hudson River in New York City. This work, spanning from 2014 to 2021, is gifted by the Whitney Museum of American Art in collaboration with Hudson River Park and is situated on the south edge of the Gansevoort Peninsula. The installation is directly inspired by and serves as a homage to a 1975 artwork of the same name by Gordon Matta-Clark. Matta-Clark's original work involved cutting into an abandoned pier shed at Pier 52, creating a transformative piece that celebrated water and light through architectural intervention. Hammons' iteration of "Day's End" is designed as a "ghost monument" to Matta-Clark's work, echoing the outline, dimensions, and precise location of the original structure, thus alluding to the ever-changing history of New York's waterfront (Whitney Museum of American Art) (Hudson River Park).
"Day's End" by Hammons extends into the Hudson River, manifesting as an open, skeletal steel structure that precisely follows the architectural footprint of the no-longer-extant Pier 52. It measures a staggering 52 × 325 × 65 feet (approximately 15.9 × 99 × 20 meters), making it one of the largest public art installations in New York City. The work is not only a tribute to Matta-Clark's artistic legacy but also to the broader history of the city's waterfront, encapsulating themes of absence, memory, and the passage of time. The installation offers the public an extraordinary vantage point to engage with the riverfront, providing a space for reflection on the city’s industrial past and its transformation (Whitney Museum of American Art).
Hammons' "Day's End" is a significant addition to the landscape of New York City, acting as a bridge between the past and present. It memorializes the artistic and social histories of the site, paying respect to the role of artists in shaping the cultural narrative of urban spaces. Furthermore, the work stands as a testament to Hammons' practice of engaging with history, space, and the dynamics of visibility and invisibility. Through its minimalist yet imposing structure, "Day's End" invites viewers to contemplate the transient and permanent aspects of art and urbanity, fostering a deeper understanding of the complex layers that compose the fabric of New York City's waterfront (Whitney Museum of American Art) (Hudson River Park).