Sarah Oppenheimer unravels the secrets of the Pérez Art Museum Miami

The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is debuting a major new work from New York-based visual artist Sarah Oppenheimer. Commissioned by the museum, the new project required the exhibition space on the second floor to be reoriented – and that is its genius. Oppenheimer thus bridges art, architecture and engineering in 'intensive spatial modifications'.

'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.'

In 'S-281913', Oppenheimer creates two architectural 'switches'  – rotating glass elements that alternate in transparency and reflectivity in relation to lighting conditions and viewing position. These switches are independent of each other and play between Herzog & de Meuron’s lighting grid and PAMM’s view of Biscayne Bay. A trick of the eye, a play on space and proximity.

'The complex production of this piece and its installation in the museum’s gallery testifies to Oppenheimer’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.'