Kennedy Center Begins Removal of Joel Shapiro's Blue Sculpture Amid Ongoing Renaming Dispute
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The Kennedy Center started dismantling Joel Shapiro's electric-blue stick-figure sculpture on its grounds, a move tied to a broader renovation and renaming effort driven by the center’s board under President Donald Trump.
The Kennedy Center’s outdoor grounds saw the removal of Joel Shapiro’s electric-blue stick-figure sculpture, known as "Blue," on the morning of September 2, 2026. The deinstallation, scheduled to finish by early afternoon, was announced only through a National Park Service street-closure notice. A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the removal was made at the request of the center and the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation, which will decide the work’s next location.
Shapiro, who died in 2023, described the piece as a “celebration of possibility.” The center expressed gratitude for the artwork, noting it had animated the campus for several years. The board, which has repeatedly voted to rename the venue after President Donald J. Trump, is overseeing a larger renovation project that includes adding Trump-related signage to the building’s marble facade and naming the surrounding plaza after the president.
Legal challenges continue over the renaming effort. A federal judge previously barred the addition of Trump’s name to the memorial, and Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty has filed an emergency motion seeking to halt the board’s latest actions. The Department of Justice has argued that the center requires presidential support to avoid deterioration during its two-year closure for renovation.
The removal follows a prior deinstallation of Roy Lichtenstein’s "Brushstroke" sculpture in December 2025 after its loan expired. Advocacy groups opposing the changes have urged the public to say farewell to the artwork.