Artist Arlene Shechet’s recently installed aluminum work now occupies the grounds of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Maiden May , Arlene Shechet, aluminum, stainless steel and paint, 2023 Donny Bajohr Arlene Shechet’s elegant 12-foot abstract sculpture evokes the green of spring as it stands on the grounds of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden . Shechet created the aluminum piece, called Maiden May , in 2023, and it was featured in a 2024 show at the Storm King Art Center in New York. Its current place on the grass just outside the Hirshhorn building pleases its creator. “I love it here,” Shechet said during a visit in March. “It actually has more space.” The artist is primarily known for her ceramic works, one of which, the five-foot Ripple and Ruffle , is in the Hirshhorn collection. “She’s especially recognized for having helped catalyze a contemporary resurgence in ceramics,” said Hirshhorn curator Anne Reeve.…