Engagement

Dennis Oppenheim (United States of America)

Dennis Oppenheim was born in 1938 in Electric City, Washington. He received his B.F.A. from the School of Arts and Crafts, and an M.F.A. from Stanford University. Dennis Oppenheim lives and works in New York.

Recently selected to participate as an artist in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, Dennis Oppenheim continues to be an influential figure in international contemporary art. He first achieved recognition for conceptual work in the sixties, traversing through Earth and Body Art, video and performance.

In the eighties he used complex constructions, machine- made modules to create metaphors for the artistic ideas. Transformation through mutation was the basis for sculpture through the nineties. Since then the artist has concentrated on permanent public sculpture. Through this work he fuses an interest in architecture with sculpture.

Design Synopsis of Engagement

Engagement is situated in front of the Marriage Registry in the City Art Square. This is where individuals apply for and receive their marriage licenses. It is an appropriate site for Engagement, which incorporates two large engagement rings that can be walked beneath and through. Taking the place of the traditional diamond on the top of the rings are two glass houses. The houses sit on top of radically angled steel rings, which plunge into the ground in a way which allows them to lean away from one another. It is the tendency toward instability which is captured by this work. It becomes a caution for those entering into a contract of marriage. Standing under the rings, some may have the sensation of separation but others may have a sensation of joining, of coming together. It is a balance between the two conditions that Engagement addresses.

Information provided by Sun Hung Kai Properties Charitable Fund Limited.