Mattress Factory’s vibrant and interactive installations from five contemporary artists

The Pittsburgh museum has earned a reputation for its installation art over the past 41 years, having displayed work by over 750 artists through its residency program.

Known collectively as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for ‘the twins’), Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, from São Paulo, Brazil, are known for their large-format paintings of yellow figures. Their creations have been displayed not only inside galleries, but on the outside of buildings, trains and grain elevators in more than 60 countries.

Their vibrant, immersive installation uses the entire fourth floor of the Mattress Factory’s main building, with a folk-art style that evokes the liveliness of their home with bright colours, surreal sculptures, light displays, and pop culture references. In one room, a life-sized zoetrope gives life and motion to different characters.

Munich-based Karina Smigla-Bobinski’s works, which include kinetic art, drawing, video, installation, painting, performance and sculpture, have been shown in 45 countries on 5 continents. Her installation, ADA, named after 19th-century mathematician, Ada Lovelace, is a giant interactive analogue installation featuring a huge helium balloon studded with charcoal spikes, which create patterns on the surrounding white walls.

Sculptor Christina A. West’s multimedia installation, Screen, consists of bright pink and green sculptural figures and a variety of different screens - from screens on monitors that present distorted and delayed images, to mirrors and to walls that inhibit access to interior spaces, creating a disorienting space for self-analysis.

Iranian-American artist Laleh Mehran’s work explores myth, spiritualism and ideology, and often includes sophisticated electronic elements. Her installation, The Interstitium uses cutting edge technology that traces the viewers movements within the space. the viewer is focused upon and lit by animated entities 'growing' out from the nebulous wall material—made up of coal byproduct.

Pittsburgh native William Earl Kofmehl III is a sculptor whose work is composed of reclaimed cast bronze and aluminium alloys, harvested from Pittsburgh’s industrial history. In Lessons, he looks at the intersections between factual information, historical events and fictitious stories.

The latest Artist in Residence series runs through until 2019 at The Mattress Factory.