sarah oppenheimer
rice gallery, houston, texas
on now until december 5th, 2010


'D - 17', 2010 by sarah oppenheimer
all photos by nash baker courtesy rice gallery


american artist sarah oppenheimer was commissioned by rice university art gallery,
houston to create an installation for their gallery space. 'D-17' took a year
and a half in the making. the epic 65-foot, aluminum-sheathed white structure
angles above the transom of sewall hall’s front doors, into the foyer and extends
into the floor of the gallery itself. along the way the work seemingly passes through
two walls of glass that act as filters, subtly changing the color of the structure as
you look through them.

'D-17' is a massive physical intervention into the building and gallery. seeing it
in bright daylight creates an entirely different experience of the installation.
approaching sewall hall in full sun, d-17 is essentially invisible; the wall of windows
becomes a mirror reflecting the green leafy grounds of the campus. your only real
clue to what lies inside is the foot or so of the structure that pokes out from
the opening above the doors. it is only once you enter through the doors that the rest
of the massive construction is revealed, looming above you. while the daylight turns
the building’s glass exterior into a mirror, the same thing occurs discretely inside.
an overhead channel in the piece directs sunlight in from the outside, and when that
channel of light hits the glass of the gallery wall, it creates a tiny mirror. standing in
the entry and facing the gallery, you can peer up into the open channel.

inside the gallery is where you really feel the work’s energy. the expansive aluminum
plane angles dramatically up from the gallery floor and soars out toward the courtyard
beyond. that slender channel running along one side of the piece directs your eye out
into the trees beyond the building.

pulling off a work of this scale involved wood and metal fabricators, structural engineers,
architects, a fire and safety inspector, as well as an intrepid construction team. the fabrication
process began this summer with actual construction beginning in august. in june, oppenheimer
conducted a design workshop with rice architecture students in which they analyzed the light
conditions in the space and reflectivity of the gallery’s glass wall. in creating her work,
the artist takes on the role of a scientist leading a research team as well as that of a contractor
supervising a construction crew.


























sarah oppenheimer received a BA in semiotics from brown university and an MFA
from yale university, where she is a critic in the school of art.