D-17 installation by Sarah Oppenheimer, Texas

The lobby at the Rice Gallery. Beige tiles with white walls, with concrete arches at the front of the building seen through the glass entry.
The D-17 by Sarah Oppenheimer at Rice Gallery, Houston
(Image credit: TBC)

Five times a year, Rice Gallery invites an artist to create a single installation that transforms its Houston space. From its latest pick, however, it got a little more than it bargained for. Sarah Oppenheimer's soaring shard of aluminum not only takes over the gallery but bursts through two windows to reach the courtyard beyond.

The D-17 spans nearly 60 feet, playing with the light as it passes through the space. Part of the American artist's on-going explorations into how holes and perforated planes affect the way we experience the built environment, it is dissected by a thin channel that directs sunlight in from the outside.

The installation appears to change throughout the day. Approach the gallery in full sunlight and it is virtually invisible, with the building's glass exterior acting as a mirror, reflecting the leafy surrounds. The only clue to what lies inside is the metre or so of structure protruding above the doors.

Enter the building, however, and its aluminum planes loom above you. The interior wall of glass acts as a filter, subtly changing the lighting and colour of the structure throughout the day. Meanwhile its thin channel also draws your eyes outside.

Rice Gallery is the only university museum in the US devoted to site-specific installation art. Oppenheimer is one of the more established of its 40 or so artists who have transformed the space, whose works range from a surging sea of cardboard boxes (Phoebe Washburn) to a tapestry of discarded bottle tops (El Anatsui).

The gallery funds the artist's creative process from start to finish, which gives its commissions career-making potential. And, for visitors, it offers an immersive experience. As you walk into the gallery, you enter the art and become part of the installation.

Front view of the lobby at the Rice Gallery. Beige tiles with white walls, and an asymmetrical white structure that comes down from the ceiling and touches the floor.

The D-17 evolved from a design workshop that Oppenheimer conducted with Rice architecture students, in which they analysed the light conditions in the gallery

(Image credit: TBC)

The lobby at the Rice Gallery. Beige tiles with white walls, with concrete and red brick arches at the front of the building seen through the glass entry. A white asymmetrical structure is going through the glass and connects with the top of an arch.

The ambitious final structure incorporated multiple disciplines and productions processes, including CNC milling, metal fabrication and structural engineering

(Image credit: TBC)

The entry at the Rice Gallery. A white asymmetrical structure is going through the glass and connects with the top of an arch.

The structure bursts through two windows to reach the outside

(Image credit: TBC)

The front view of the Rice Gallery. Two arches with a red brick facade provide a view of the inside.

Rice Gallery is the only university gallery in America dedicated to installation art

(Image credit: TBC)

The room has beige tiles with white walls. Through an all-glass divider, we see square black canvases on the walls.

Past installation: ’New Work’ by Sol LeWitt, 1997

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. On the far wall, we see a cloud-like structure with an uneven edge at the top.

Past installation: ’Haze’ by Tara Donovan, 2003

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. The gallery is filled with a green light with black lineart on the walls and the ceiling.

Past installation: ’SuperThrive’ by Stephen Hendee, 2000

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. There is a yellow and red carpet with white structures with light coming out of them.

Past installation: ’Sam Ran Over Sand or Sand Ran Over Sam’ by Jessica Stockholder, 2004

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. The gallery is all yellow with black dots everywhere.

Past installation: ’Dots Obsession’ by Yayoi Kusama, 1997

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. There is a wooden construction that represents a canyon.

Past installation: ’Rip Curl Canyon’ by Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues, 2006

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. White, circle-shaped structures are stacked one on top of the other, like collapsed dominos. Threads of different thicknesses and colours are hanging from the ceiling.

Past installation: ’. . . . . all of the above’ by Judy Pfaff, 2007

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. The whole far wall is covered with the installation, that carries over to the ceiling and the two other walls. It's colorful and has many different shapes. It resembles a cave wall.

Past installation: ’Tapumes’ Henrique Oliveira, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

Installation at the Rice Gallery. From two long handing rods, fabricks come down to the ground. The fabric is somewhat see-through and light brown in colour.

Past installation: ’Gli (Wall)’ by El Anatsui, 2010

(Image credit: TBC)

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Malaika Byng is an editor, writer and consultant covering everything from architecture, design and ecology to art and craft. She was online editor for Wallpaper* magazine for three years and more recently editor of Crafts magazine, until she decided to go freelance in 2022. Based in London, she now writes for the Financial Times, Metropolis, Kinfolk and The Plant, among others.