Von Bartha is pleased to present two solo exhibitions, by New York based artists Sarah Oppenheimer and Olaf Breuning in the gallery’s Basel space, opening 13 May to 30 July 2022 and coinciding with Art Basel in June. Invoking von Bartha’s longstanding engagement with kinetic art, Sarah Oppenheimer’s work introduces the human motor as an agent of phased movement. For Breuning’s second solo exhibition at von Bartha, the artist will display a new series of paintings in dialogue with his sculptures in the gallery’s north space.

Known for the manipulation of the built environment, Oppenheimer’s latest work, N-02, consists of three interconnected ‘instruments,’ each composed of an elongated black aluminium bar and two linear lighting tracks. Arrayed across the ceiling, lamps weave between gallery walls. Black bars interrupt the wall’s white surface.

Visitors are invited to manually manipulate each instrument. Sliding a black bar modulates the position of overhead lights. Touch animates the environment, creating cyclical patterns of change. Elongated black lines merge and separate while luminous stripes of light rise and fall. Gestures overlap and intersect. The energy of human motion intertwines with the frequencies of the environment. As sunlight diminishes and day becomes night, the gallery’s reflective façade is transformed into a transparent window. Light diffuses across the building membrane, and the radiance of the oscillating instruments spills into the street.

Opening: Friday, May 13, 6 – 8 pm