Name: Valerie J. Fletcher

Occupation: Senior curator of modern art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Residence: Springfield

What I want to tell you about this piece: It’s a metaphor, or a symbol for a state of mind that is riddled with anxiety, even fear. And yet there is, at its core, reassurance. The entire space is enclosed by a metal cage, the kind of fence that you put around animals or property. But it has three round mirrors that tilt slightly outward. There’s an intimation that you can get in and out, at least psychologically, of this space.