Hans Rosenström is set to transform Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park, opening this week with Out of Silence, a site-specific voice and sound installation that will fill Louis Kahn’s iconic riverside monument with meditative choral sound from 29th April through 21st June 2026.
“Out of Silence grows quite literally from a gentle breeze and rustle of leaves into a collection of voices sounding together and alone. With this I wanted to create a rather unexpected moment that inspires curiosity and a sense of belonging.”
Hans Rosenström
The ambitious new work draws inspiration from the music of Arvo Pärt—created in celebration of the composer’s 90th birthday—as well as the profound stillness and architectural clarity of Kahn’s modernist landmark on Roosevelt Island.
The result is an immersive sonic environment designed not simply to be heard, but experienced physically and spatially—encouraging visitors to slow down, move through the landscape and reconnect with the act of listening.
Created over more than a year in collaboration with curator Alina Girshovich, Out of Silence expanded last summer to include Vox Clamantis, the internationally acclaimed choir long associated with Pärt’s compositions.
Rather than working from a traditional score, Rosenström developed a poetic script inspired by his observations within Four Freedoms Park—its shifting light, the intertwined shadows of branches across pathways, and the contemplative rhythm embedded within Kahn’s architecture. That text was then taken to the Arvo Pärt Centre in Estonia, where Vox Clamantis improvised vocal responses in Pärt’s signature meditative style.
The process—open-ended, collective and deeply intuitive—mirrors Rosenström’s wider artistic practice, where sound becomes architecture and listening becomes participation.
Installed across a dozen hidden speakers woven discreetly throughout the park, Out of Silence unfolds as a 15-minute spatial journey, with voices emerging, overlapping and dissolving into silence—transforming the landscape into a resonant field of breath, vibration and presence.
As curator Alina Girshovich explains:
“Out of Silence speaks to the power of the human voice, a sound emerging from within that reaches outward to connect and permeate another’s space. As voices intertwine, they begin to affect one another, synchronizing their vibrations across the resonant air. Entering the installation evokes a sense of belonging, and, much like Pärt’s music and Kahn’s architecture, offers a moment of solace within an often disconnected world.”
Howard Axel, CEO of Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, added:
“Out of Silence reflects our commitment to presenting meaningful contemporary art in free public space. We’re proud to work with Hans Rosenström and curator Alina Girshovich, to bring a powerful sound installation into Louis Kahn’s architecture, inviting visitors to slow down, listen, and reflect.”
The installation forms part of a growing spotlight on Finnish contemporary culture in New York, alongside wider institutional collaborations and a forthcoming solo exhibition by Rosenström at International Studio & Curatorial Program later this summer.
For New Yorkers, Out of Silence offers something increasingly rare: a public artwork built not around spectacle, but around stillness—an invitation to pause, listen and be fully present.
MORE: fdrfourfreedomspark.org
About the artist
Hans Rosenström (born 1978, Lohja, Finland; currently based in Stockholm, Sweden) studied at both the
Malmö Art Academy, Sweden, and the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki. Rosenström is most well-known for his site-specific sound installations that are carefully produced in relation to the sites where they are experienced. Utilizing a variety of different mediums—from the ephemeral yet tactile qualities of sound, the intricacies of language, to architectural constructions and light—he aims to build sensitive and nuanced environments that often invite viewers to become part of the work, to feel their presence, and to pay attention and reflect upon their interconnectedness with the world around them.
Rosenström has participated in multiple group exhibitions including: Shelter, 3rd Helsinki Biennial, Helsinki, Finland (2025); Frieze Sculpture, Regent’s Park, London, UK (2023); Landscapes of Belonging, Kindl Contemporary Art Center, Berlin, Germany (2022); North Atlantic Triennial: Down North, PMA Portland Museum of Art, USA (2022), and Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More, 1st Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Riga (2018). His recent solo exhibitions include: Broken Chord, Atelier Nord, Oslo, Norway (2025); Gradually, then suddenly, Helsinki Contemporary, Helsinki, Finland (2025); and Evanesce, Kohta, Helsinki, Finland (2022). Rosenström’s works can be seen in several collections, including Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York; Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; and EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art. In 2020, Rosenström was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Media Art.
