What Is Elmgreen & Dragset’s 40-Ton Walk-Through Sculpture at Pace in Chelsea?

Short answer

TRANSITION, a new exhibition by the artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, opens at Pace Gallery, 508 and 510 West 25th Street in Chelsea, on Thursday, November 6, 2026, and runs through January 16, 2027. Its centerpiece is a 40-ton steel sculpture that visitors can enter and walk through. The opening reception is Wednesday, November 5, from 6 to 8 PM, the same evening Pace opens two more shows down the block.

Key facts

• Who: Elmgreen & Dragset, the Danish-Norwegian duo behind Prada Marfa (2005) and Van Gogh’s Ear at Rockefeller Center (2016).
• What: TRANSITION — a traversable steel sculpture weighing 40 tons, plus a new series of wall works.
• Where: Pace Gallery, 508 & 510 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001.
• When: November 6, 2026 – January 16, 2027. Opening reception November 5, 6–8 PM.
• Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is free.

What is the 40-ton sculpture?

Pace describes a steel structure visitors can enter and pass through, rather than circle from the outside. The work continues the duo’s long interest in architecture and in how bodies move through built spaces — the same line of thinking that produced Van Gogh’s Ear, a full-size swimming pool stood upright in front of Rockefeller Center in 2016, and Prada Marfa, a replica boutique installed on a Texas highway in 2005. A new series of wall works hangs alongside the sculpture.

What else opens that night?

The reception on November 5 covers three Pace openings on West 25th Street. At 540 West 25th, the gallery shows Lucas Samaras: Boxes and Reconstructions — box sculptures from the 1960s to the 1980s, including Box #5 (1963–68) and the Cor-ten steel Stiff Box #14 (1971), plus hand-sewn fabric works from 1979 shown for the first time, running through January 23, 2027. The same address hosts the first New York solo exhibition of London painter Li Hei Di, whose new paintings move between figuration and abstraction around the Chinese creation goddess Nüwa.

Who are Elmgreen & Dragset?

Michael Elmgreen, born in Copenhagen in 1961, and Ingar Dragset, born in Trondheim in 1969, have worked together since the 1990s. Their art plays with institutions, architecture and the rituals of public space, often by displacing familiar objects — a pool, a boutique, a museum interior — into settings that change how you read them. If you are new to how a commercial contemporary art gallery programs exhibitions like this one, our glossary covers the basics.

How do you visit?

The gallery is at 508 and 510 West 25th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, a short walk from the High Line. It is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM, and entry is free, as at most Chelsea galleries. The November 5 reception runs from 6 to 8 PM and is open to the public. For a slower first pass through the sculpture, our guide on how to look closely at a single artwork works just as well for objects as for photographs.

FAQ

Can you go inside the sculpture?

Yes. Pace presents the 40-ton steel work as a structure visitors can enter and walk through.

Does it cost anything?

No. Entry to Pace’s Chelsea galleries is free.

What are the dates?

November 6, 2026 through January 16, 2027, with the opening reception on November 5, 6 to 8 PM.

What else is on at Pace?

Lucas Samaras’s boxes and 1979 fabric works, and Li Hei Di’s first New York solo show, both at 540 West 25th Street.

About Antre

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Sources

• Pace Gallery, exhibition page for TRANSITION: dates, reception, address, the traversable steel sculpture and wall works.
• New York City Wave (October 25, 2026): the three same-night openings on West 25th Street, the Samaras checklist and Li Hei Di’s first New York solo.
• Pace Gallery, location page: gallery hours.

More context: our guide to Lari Pittman’s new show at Lehmann Maupin, two blocks south, and Ai Weiwei’s Illumination at Vito Schnabel Gallery.