At this year’s Art Basel, the galleries von Bartha, Basel, and Annely Juda Fine Art, London, in co-operation with Duve, Berlin, and P.P.O.W., New York, presented a large-scale installation by New York based artist Sarah Oppenheimer.
Sarah Oppenheimer’s VP-41 is a periscope embedded within a particular architecture. The periscope itself is constructed out of bent plywood and two mirrors. From the exterior of the structure, the viewer gazes through a double aperture. The lower aperture reflects into an interior elevated room, the upper aperture extends the line of sight through the booth and into the adjacent booths. On the opposite side, other visitors return the viewer’s gaze.
In this video, Sarah Oppenheimer explains how the piece works, and the gallerists Stefan von Bartha and Alexander Duve talk about the challenges to produce art works for the Unlimited sector of Art Basel.
For more information on Sarah Oppenheimer’s work see also VernissageTV’s documentation of her Artist Talk at the American Academy in Berlin on October 30, 2008, and the coverage of the opening of her exhibition at Duve Berlin on October 31, 2009.
Sarah Oppenheimer: VP-41 / Art Unlimited, Art 40 Basel 2009 art fair. June 10. 2009.
> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.