BASEL.- Sarah Oppenheimer, born 1972 and living in New York, presents her first institutional exhibition in Europe at the Kunsthaus Baselland. Her work has been shown at numerous museums across the United States, including at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Andy Warhol Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Developed for Kunsthaus Baselland, 33-D reconfigures the interior spaces of the Kunsthaus along the building’s structural grid. Two large glass sheets are mounted at a 45-degree angle to the external skin of the building. These sheets function simultaneously as both wall and projection surface, reflecting sightlines within and without the museum. Each glass plane creates traversable apertures for the visitor to cross. These openings create unexpected thresholds and trajectories for visitor movement through the space.

Oppenheimer’s interventions disrupt the experience that we, the visitors, have of the succession of spaces within a building. Her work modifies the existing architectural elements of a building while simultaneously altering our perception of the overall building plan. This transformation varies further with changing light conditions at different times of day and year. Instead of a linear experience of space and time, Oppenheimer offers the visitor a reshuffled experience of the two; instead of visitors and viewers, we become direct participants in a situation.

Positioned in a transitional zone between an urban and industrial environment, the Kunsthaus Baselland‘s exhibitions turn the experimental and innovative potential inherent in its location to its advantage. The institution organises group shows that consider current social discourses and topical questions in contemporary art, as well as solo shows devoted to up-coming and re-contextualised national and international artists.

The industrial architecture of the building allows for interactions and dialogue between individual artistic positions, as well as for independently staged statements. Annually there are seven to nine curated art exhibitions whose focus is international or beyond the region, accompanied by talks with artists, discussions, and events on art theory. The actuality of topics and conceptual quality are the most important selection criteria. The programme is complemented by the REGIONALE – a cooperation with fourteen neighbouring institutions in the region.