As Berlin braces for record-breaking temperatures reaching up to 99°F (37°C) on Friday, art lovers are discovering an unexpected oasis at the Neue Nationalgalerie. The museum is currently hosting a unique fog sculpture installation by Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya that allows visitors to immerse themselves in cool water mist while experiencing cutting-edge contemporary art.

The fog sculpture, located in the museum's sculpture garden, creates an otherworldly environment where visitors can walk through dense clouds of refreshing water vapor. Upon entering the garden, guests receive a warning that obstacles and other people become difficult to see in the mist. Visitors are advised to move slowly and keep their children close, with the museum recommending arrival just before the top of each hour since the doors remain locked for approximately ten minutes during the fog activation.

Curator Lisa Botti explains that despite the extreme heat, the Neue Nationalgalerie is experiencing exceptionally high visitor numbers thanks to several outstanding exhibitions running simultaneously, including shows by Lygia Clark and Yoko Ono, but especially due to Nakaya's interactive installation. "There's definitely no summer slump to be felt," Botti notes, emphasizing the museum's robust attendance during the heat wave.

The fog sculpture, which debuted at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, is designed as a fully interactive installation where visitors can walk through the mist and experience how it obscures certain sightlines while revealing unexpected moments and perspectives. Guests who have experienced the installation describe it as a sensory journey that feels romantic, surprising, and gently cooling. Among the visitors, tourists from New York found the experience so refreshing that they were energized to continue their cultural tour to Museum Island afterward.

What makes this installation particularly special is how it interacts with the iconic Mies van der Rohe architecture of the Neue Nationalgalerie building. Botti explains that the fog sculpture can be appreciated from three distinct perspectives: first, from the collection floor through the 295-foot-long glass facade where visitors can observe how individual fog formations develop; second, by entering the sculpture garden directly to walk through and feel the mist while experiencing how it impairs vision and reveals certain surfaces; and third, from the museum's terrace, offering a bird's-eye view of how the fog slowly ascends toward the sky.

The Fujiko Nakaya fog sculpture runs until September 14 in the Neue Nationalgalerie's sculpture garden at Potsdamer Straße 50 in Berlin-Mitte. The installation activates every hour on the hour for approximately ten minutes. The museum offers free admission on Thursdays from 4 to 8 PM, with regular tickets available online for other visiting hours.