Another Victory Over the Sun

Another Victory Over the Sun was a group exhibition that offered an experience in which art framed architecture. During this exhibition, all the natural light in the museum was blacked-out, which allowed many of the works of art to act as their own source of illumination. The title of the exhibition refers to the 1913 opera, “Victory Over the Sun,” a cornerstone for modern art, which celebrated the power of human creativity to invent new worlds. With art's victory over its frame, the viewers can no longer detach themselves from the art experience, but instead are engulfed within it.

Immersing the visitor in an art environment, Another Victory Over the Sun explored the relationship between museum and theatre. Presented on the main floor of MCA Denver, American artist Spencer Finch designed a pond for recreating the Japanese activity of looking at the moon in the reflection of the water. Mexican artist Miguel Calderòn presented a video of a panther in a dark room, experienced only as a glimpse of gnashing teeth and the sound of threatening growls. 

The exhibition included artwork by Spencer Finch (b.1962, New Haven, Connecticut), Miguel Calderòn (b.1971, Mexico City, Mexico), Dan Flavin (b. 1933, Jamaica, New York), Scott Johnson (b.1969, Colorado), Juan Muñoz (b.1953, Madrid, Spain), Erin Shirreff (b.1975, Kelowna, British Columbia), Melanie Smith (1962, Scranton, Pennsylvania), and David Zimmer.