american artist sarah oppenheimer was commissioned by rice university art gallery in houston to create an installation for their gallery space. "d-17", which took a year and a half to make is a 65 foot, aluminum-sheathed white structure that angles above the transom of seward hall's front doors and extends into the foyer & gallery itself.
seeing it in bright daylight creates an entirely different experience of the installation. approaching sewall hall in full sun, d-17 is essentially invisible; the wall of windows becomes a mirror reflecting the green leafy grounds of the campus. your only real clue to what lies inside is the foot or so of the structure that pokes out from the opening of the doors. it is only once you enter through the doors that the rest of the massive construction is revealed, looming above you. while the daylight turns the building's glass exterior into a mirror, the same thing occurs discreetly inside. an overhead channel in the piece directs sunlight in from the outside, and when that channel of light hits the glass of the gallery wall, it creates a tiny mirror.