The temporary public artwork can be viewed on the Santa Monica Boulevard median at N. Doheny Drive. (photo by Jon Viscott)

The city of West Hollywood announces the installation of “The Seven Sisters,” a temporary public artwork by internationally recognized artist and architect Matthias Neumann. As part of the city’s Art on the Outside program, the sculptural installation is now on view along the Santa Monica Boulevard median at N. Doheny Drive.

Rooted in one of humanity’s most enduring celestial stories, “The Seven Sisters” draws inspiration from the global mythology of the Pleiades star cluster. In the Greek legend, the daughters of Altas and the nymph Pleione are pursued by Orion until Zeus transforms them into stars, one of which eventually fades from visibility.

Variations of this tale appear across cultures from the Americas to Australia, each describing seven girls who become stars, with one no longer seen. Astronomers believe the Pleiades may indeed have shone as seven bright stars roughly 100,000 years ago, and anthropologists suggest these parallel myths may reflect a shared ancestral memory carried across early human migrations.

Positioned prominently along Santa Monica Boulevard, Neumann’s installation celebrates this remarkable cross-cultural narrative, inviting viewers to contemplate a poetic connection to our collective human past.

“The Seven Sisters” is comprised of six sculptures, each a distinct formal variation derived from a single expressive idea. Ranging in size from 6-to-16 feet high, each work is constructed from approximately 100 pieces of high-grade 2×4 lumber. Painted in durable outdoor acrylic colors and built around an internal metal armature mounted to concrete bases, the sculptures form a cohesive family of structures that share a visual language while remaining unique in scale and detail.

Matthias Neumann is an artist and architect whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, public art, installation and architectural design. His projects have been realized across the United States, Europe and Africa, and his work has been featured at institutions and exhibitions including Manifesta 8, Galeria HIT, the National Museum of Contemporary Art Romania, SITE:Lab, the Queens Museum, the Montalvo Arts Center and the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Neumann is known for public artworks that explore material simplicity, spatial perception and the resonance of shared cultural memory.

The Art on the Outside Program is the city of West Hollywood’s temporary art program that installs rotating artworks throughout the city. The artworks can include sculpture, murals, digital art and other outdoor works. Most exhibitions remain on display between six months and three years. All projects are subject to the Art on the Outside program review and approval process through the city’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. The program is funded through the Public Beautification & Art Fund.

For information about West Hollywood arts programming, visit weho.org/arts.