In the past two decades, Philippe Parreno has almost single-handedly reshaped the very notion of what it means to experience art by turning the dynamics of a show into an evolving, situational process, exploring its possibilities as a singular, coherent object rather than as a collection of individual works.

In his largest installation in the U.S. to date, Parreno continues his interrogations into the radical redefinition of the exhibition ritual at the Armory, in one of the few spaces in the world in which such an epic experience could occur. Within the monumental interior of the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, he will construct a scripted space where a series of events fold and unfold onto the space itself, creating an architecture of attention on a scale of operatic proportions. This dramatic composition fuses the spectral presence of sound—both recorded and performed live by Mikhail Rudy— with film, light, collaborations, apparitions, and memory to guide and manipulate the viewer’s experience and perception. This sensory journey through both remastered existing works and new projects reveals strata that while present, were previously invisible, and metamorphoses the building into a quasi-living, perpetually evolving organism.

Commissioned by Park Avenue Armory

Co-curated by Alex Poots and Hans-Ulrich Obrist.

This installation is supported by the LUMA Foundation, with additional support from Ken Kuchin and Tyler Morgan and from the Grand Marnier Foundation.

This installation is also supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.