MIAMI—July 21, 2016— On
September 30, 2016, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) will debut
S-281913, a major new work by Sarah Oppenheimer on view until
April 30, 2017. Bridging art, architecture, and engineering, Oppenheimer’s intensive spatial modifications generate astonishing effects that both scramble and clarify our understanding of the buildings we inhabit, providing not only new ways of looking, but a new set of philosophical considerations with which to approach the built environment.
For her new project, commissioned by PAMM, Oppenheimer reorients the array of staggered exhibition spaces on the museum’s second floor.
S-281913 consists of two architectural “switches”: rotating glass elements that alternate in transparency and reflectivity in relation to lighting conditions and viewing position. The switches operate both independently and in tandem, relaying sightlines between the museum’s two primary light sources: Herzog & de Meuron’s archetypal lighting grid and PAMM’s expansive view of Biscayne Bay. The visitor’s primary axis of orientation will fluctuate as the switches are moved. Seemingly distant locations will be brought into close proximity, and spaces previously obscured will be brought into view.
“Every building has its secrets,” says PAMM curator René Morales. “PAMM’s architects employed brilliant and innovative structural techniques that are hidden within the museum’s iconic form. Sarah’s work explores and unravels the secrets of the buildings she engages.”
“The complex production of this piece and its installation in the museum’s gallery testifies to Sarah’s status as a proponent for sculpture in an ever-expanding field, one that also comes to terms with architecture and engineering,” says Director Franklin Sirmans. “Believing that artists and their imaginations spur innovation and experimentation in technology, PAMM supports contemporary artists who push the boundaries of diverse fields of inquiry, while suggesting new paths for art-making.”
About Sarah OppenheimerSarah Oppenheimer (b. 1972, Austin; lives in New York) received an M.F.A. from Yale University. Solo exhibitions of her work have been presented at multiple institutions including Mudam Luxembourg; Kunsthaus Baselland; Baltimore Museum of Art; Saint Louis Art Museum; Queens Museum of Art; and the Drawing Center. Two major solo projects by Oppenheimer will be presented in 2017 at Wexner Center for the Arts and in 2019 at Mass MoCA; Selected group exhibitions of her work include projects presented at Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston; Site Santa Fe; the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; CCS Hessel Museum; Sculpture Center; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; and White Columns. She is the recipient of honors including a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.
About Pérez Art Museum MiamiPérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. A 32-year-old South Florida institution formerly known as Miami Art Museum (MAM), Pérez Art Museum Miami opened a new building, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, in Downtown Miami’s Museum Park on December 4, 2013. The facility is a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming and features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with flexible galleries; shaded outdoor verandas; a waterfront restaurant and bar; a museum shop; and an education center with a library, media lab and classroom spaces. For more information, please visit
www.pamm.org, find us on Facebook (
facebook.com/perezartmuseummiami), or follow us on Twitter (
@pamm).
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. Support is provided by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. Additional support is provided by the City of Miami and the Miami OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency (OMNI CRA). Pérez Art Museum Miami is an accessible facility. All contents ©Pérez Art Museum Miami. All rights reserved.
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