Off the Wall Exhibition Design
with Z-A Studio
The Jewish Museum of New York
New York, New York

Constructed out of art packing materials, “Off the Wall” follows the concept of the exhibition where traditional materials are recycled and reinterpreted into new works of art. As art reinterprets the content of the museum, the design reinterprets its context. In a literal translation of the exhibition title, the design provides not only “Off the Wall” platforms for the display of the art but also for the artists at work. Three different materials were used in three galleries, responding to the type of art in each: The Pixilated Mattress , a landscape of gray foam blocks; The Pedestal Mountains , a tactile series of pedestals from white ester foam; and The Display Canyon, A cut through layers of honeycomb cardboard. Exhibition design is short lived architecture. It provides an opportunity to integrate the life expectancy of the project into the design process.