An alluring and extramundane blue light emanates from the Window, Sprüth Magers’ Berlin storefront exhibition space that is sunken and high-ceilinged, allowing visitors to view displayed works from the street around the clock. The spectacular color or, to be precise, the wavelengths emitted by Pamela Rosenkranz’s Alien Blue Windows permeate the entire room and pour out of the building.

Four large and one smaller luminous work line the wood-paneled wall. From a distance, they seem to sink into the gallery’s architecture, while at close range, it becomes apparent they protrude into the space. Reminiscent of upside-down lancet windows found in Gothic churches, the shapes always correspond to an actual window in a building – modern or historical – somewhere in the world. The light works possess an unusual density of luminance, infusing the room and its exterior with an alien atmosphere.

When the first animals transitioned from water to land, their sinuous swimming movements translated into the winding locomotion of their terrestrial descendants – both marine and land-dwelling animals’ gaits are supported by their scaly bodies. Recalling Rosenkranz’s Healer – a robotic snake with reflective kirigami skin – the artist’s new series Healer Scrolls continues her inquiry into the archaic image of the serpent. Endowed with the power to heal, the animal has come to represent the thin line between life and death; its venom is considered a powerful medicine, which is as useful as it is dangerous. Drawing on ancient kirigami cuts and folds, the works on paper display a pattern resembling the scales of a snake, playing with age-old assumptions and deep-seated evolutionary fears. Adding another layer of intrigue, they reference both the historic rolls of paper used to store information and the movement needed to navigate the internet’s sheer endless wealth of knowledge.

Together, the pieces on show are an exploration into perception – from our distant evolutionary past to our current digital age. Rosenkranz’s multilayered works reflect the role architecture inhabits in her practice by playing with placement, perspective, and spatial depth whilst delving into complex questions surrounding human existence.

Rosenkranz’s monumental sculpture Old Tree, which examines the human desire to anthropomorphize our surroundings in order to comprehend them, was selected for the third High Line Plinth commission and is on view through fall 2024.

Please click here to learn more about the presentation.