Bridging art, architecture, cognitive science, and philosophy, Sarah Oppenheimer (b. 1972, Austin; lives in New York) generates striking perceptual effects through modifications to the gallery environment. With S-281913, Oppenheimer’s newly commissioned project for Pérez Art Museum Miami, the artist intensifies the sensorial dynamics of PAMM’s unique architecture.
From certain angles, the rotating glass elements that comprise the work appear transparent, redoubling a sense of emptiness in the gallery. From other vantage points, they present an overload of visual information in their reflections, optically reorienting the gallery’s ceiling or floor from a horizontal plane to a vertical one; the result emphasizes aspects of PAMM’s architectural infrastructure that often go unnoticed, particularly its distinctive lighting system. When configured in tandem with each other, the elements relay the room’s expansive view of Biscayne Bay across the space and through the threshold that marks the gallery’s entrance, underscoring the museum’s relationship to its urban surroundings.
Oppenheimer’s interventions heighten our awareness of the complex mental and bodily processes at work in the ways we understand and experience the spaces we inhabit. At a moment in history when this experience is increasingly mediated through the blue light that emanates from our phones, computers, and TV screens, her work reminds us that even our most fundamental perceptions require constant, critical questioning.
