Roni Horn often creates sculpture and images in pairs, using repetition to comment on memory and the perceived singularity of the art object. Pairs Object (1) comprises two copper and two stainless steel discs, which are arranged into two copper-stainless steel pairs. While the pairs are theoretically equivalent, we as viewers have a distinct experience with each. When we encounter the first pair, the two discs appear to be unique forms, defined in contrast to one another. However, our idea of this first pair changes when we see the second, almost uncannily spaced the same distance apart. According to Horn’s plans for this artwork, the second pair may be installed on the other side of the gallery, behind a wall, or in another room. In a work like Pairs Object (1), context and human perception play a crucial role in establishing difference when none theoretically exists. As the artist states, “Obviously the notion of being identical is a purely ideal one since when you have two things, no matter how perfect the identity, you always have a this and a that, a here and a there.”

Label from Looking at Tomorrow: Light and Language from The Panza Collection, 1967–1990, October 24, 2015–February 7, 2016