Reaching for the Stars: The Seven Sisters Have Arrived on Santa Monica Boulevard

The parkway median along Santa Monica Boulevard has gained a celestial new addition with the installation of The Seven Sisters, a striking temporary public artwork by internationally acclaimed artist and architect Matthias Neumann. Now on display on Santa Monica Boulevard at N. Doheny Drive, the colorful sculptural installation invites viewers to look upward and inward through a story that spans cultures, continents, and millennia.

Inspired by the mythology of the Pleiades star cluster, The Seven Sisters draws from one of humanity’s oldest shared stories. Across cultures from Greece to Australia and the Americas, legends tell of seven sisters who became stars, though one eventually disappeared from view. Anthropologists suggest these remarkably similar stories may reflect a shared ancestral memory dating back tens of thousands of years, making the artwork a powerful reflection on humanity's interconnected past.

Neumann translated this ancient narrative into six vibrant sculptures ranging from six to 16 feet tall. Constructed from hundreds of pieces of high-grade lumber, painted in bold outdoor colors, and supported by internal steel armatures, each sculpture stands as a unique variation on a common theme. Together, they create a dynamic visual conversation that changes as viewers move through the space.

Known internationally for public artworks that explore memory, perception, and place, Neumann has exhibited and installed works across the United States, Europe, and Africa. With The Seven Sisters, he brings a sense of wonder and storytelling to one of West Hollywood’s most prominent corridors.

The installation is the latest addition to the City’s Art on the Outside program, which brings temporary public artworks to streetscapes, parks, and public spaces throughout West Hollywood. Funded through the Public Beautification & Art Fund, the program continues to transform everyday spaces into opportunities for discovery, reflection, and community connection.

For those passing by along Santa Monica Boulevard, The Seven Sisters offers more than a visual landmark, it also serves as a reminder that even across vast distances of time and culture, humanity continues to share common stories written among the stars.