PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Conceptual artist Michelle Oosterbaan ventures into new territory this winter, when she integrates architectural and sculptural elements in an installation at the Morris Gallery of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Recognized for her wall-based paintings and drawings, Oosterbaan’s new exhibition will be on view through Feb. 1, 2004 in the Morris Gallery, the Academy’s space dedicated to contemporary art.

Oosterbaan creates installations based on her memory of places, architecture, and landscape. Through her work, Oosterbaan seeks to demonstrate that space can play just as important a role in triggering memories as do the physical senses, attuning viewers to the complexities of spatial perception.

Oosterbaan’s past works have incorporated diagrams and maps drawn and painted on walls with materials such as colored adhesive tape, latex house paint, and interactive panel paintings. For her Morris Gallery exhibition, she expands her focus to include simple architectural elements such as walls and ramps, which alter the layout of the Morris Gallery thus changing how viewers navigate the space.

A series of panels jutting in graded relief from the main gallery wall echo the panes of glass in the clerestory windows above. Mirrors installed on another wall, along with clusters of circular and oval panels, suggest that something as subjective and ephemeral as reflection can be implemented like any other media. Reflection also is explored in another area of the installation through a series of panel paintings that mimic barrel vaults in the Morris Gallery ceiling above.

Finally, Oosterbaan invites viewers to interact with her art. Several panel paintings are installed on a track system that viewers can move in various directions, revealing additional paintings underneath.

Like many artists working today, Oosterbaan’s practice is not limited to a specific medium. Using painting, drawing, and installation, she explores how the memory of space and place are integral in forming our identities. Her unique architecture is one of fantasy and suggestion rather than function.

On Wednesday, Jan. 14, Oosterbaan will speak at the Academy’s "Art at Lunch" presentation. The noon program, complimentary with museum admission, invites visitors to enjoy an in-depth look at the installation.

Michelle Oosterbaan (b.1967) received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis, and a master’s degree in Fine Arts from Indiana University in Bloomington. She has exhibited in many Philadelphia-area venues including Gallery Joe, Nexus, Fleisher Art Memorial, Abington Arts Center, Main Line Art Center, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Project Room, Delaware Art Museum, and the Sharidan Art Gallery at Kutztown University. She also has shown at the Henry Gallery in Savannah, and in Arts on the River in Atlanta. Oosterbaan has received funding from the Philadelphia-based Leeway Foundation and recently completed a residency at Yaddo, an artists’ colony in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Concurrent with Oosterbaan’s installation in the contemporary Morris Gallery are a number of exhibitions highlighting the Academy’s collections and history, including Times of Change, 1913-1945: Masterpieces of the Permanent Collection on display through Apr. 4, 2004; and the patriotic exhibition Our Flag through Jan. 4, 2004.

Oosterbaan’s project is the second in a series of three site-specific installations presented in the Morris Gallery. Previously, the Academy featured adhesive vinyl wall "paintings" by Los Angeles artist Monique van Genderen, interpreting details of the Academy’s architecture.

Finally, Brooklyn-based artist Adam Cvijanovic will paint his "scenic wallpaper" murals on the Morris Gallery walls. These large-scale works reference the tradition of panoramic wallpaper, which came into fashion in late-18th century, middle-class French homes to imitate the handpainted frescoes of the aristocracy. Both Oosterbaan and Cvijanovic are developing their installations in consultation with the Academy’s Curator of Contemporary Art, Alex Baker.

Michelle Oosterbaan’s Morris Gallery exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is made possible through the generous support of the William Penn Foundation. Admission to the Morris Gallery is free; admission to the Pennsylvania Academy’s additional galleries is $5 adults, $4 seniors and students with ID, $3 children ages 5-18, and free for members and children under age 5. The galleries of the Pennsylvania Academy are housed in the historic landmark building designed by Frank Furness and George W. Hewitt at 118 N. Broad St on the Avenue of the Arts. Expanded gallery space is scheduled to open in the Academy’s new Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, under renovation at Broad and Cherry Streets, with the Academy’s 200th Anniversary in 2005.