Sarah Oppenheimer: S-337473

"Sorting all this out is immensely pleasurable, and happily there is no resolution."—Roberta Smith, The New York Times, on Oppenheimer'sD-33

Experience the Wex in entirely new ways with S-337473, a newly commissioned work conceived specifically for the center’s unconventional architecture by category-defying artist Sarah Oppenheimer. Comprised of two large-scale, glass-and-metal structures anchored by a unique pivot mechanism—what the artist refers to as “switches”—S-337473 rotates at a 45-degree angle when activated by visitors. In response to your touch, columns turn into beams and thresholds become screens. The exhibition space is reoriented around new axes, altering the flow of bodies and ricochet of sightlines through the built environment.

During her two years as a Wexner Center Artist Residency Award recipient, Oppenheimer collaborated with Ohio State’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering to develop the new, patent-pending pivot mechanism. Unlike the more familiar pivots embedded in conventional doors and windows, the rotational axis of S-337473 runs diagonally; the work’s surfaces rotate around this bias axis, creating a torqued transition between the center’s vertical and horizontal grids. Turning a familiar activity into a dynamic performance, S-337473 reorganizes the perceived limits of the center’s already-provocative architecture, transforming your procession through our galleries into an act of renewed and engaged navigation.

Watch Sarah Oppenheimer and Laurent Stalder in Conversation:

Listen to this Modern Art Notes Podcast on Sarah Oppenheimer:

Sarah Oppenheimer: S-337473 is organized by the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Major support for this exhibition is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wexner Center Artist Residency Award Program, and Dave and Nancy Gill.

Installation Video: Andrew Ina.