A walk-in sculpture, “Super/Natural,” turns stained glass into a private viewing device for nature. Built by Judith Schaechter, the work functions like a miniature chapel sized for a single visitor. Step inside, look up, and the ceiling resolves into layered images of flowers, insects, and birds. The point is not spectacle; it is controlled attention.
The exhibition opened at Claire Oliver Gallery and runs through May 23 in Harlem. Schaechter anchors the project in biophilia—a concept introduced by Edward O. Wilson in 1984—arguing that humans are predisposed to seek connections with living systems. Here, that idea is not illustrated; it is staged.
Formally, the piece borrows the language of devotion. “The vernacular of stained glass is one of worship and mythology,” Schaechter notes. She flips that expectation. Instead of a religious narrative, the structure frames close observation of organic forms. The result is a secular sanctuary that uses familiar cues—height, enclosure, filtered light—to slow the viewer down.
The build is substantial: 65 individual panes, roughly eight feet tall, capped with a small geodesic dome. Production took nearly two years, which shows in the density of detail across panels and the consistency of color under changing light.
The project also draws on research from the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, where Schaechter held a residency. Neuroaesthetics studies how the brain processes aesthetic experience. In practice, that means the installation is tuned for immersion: limited space, upward gaze, and saturated color fields that push attention away from distraction and toward pattern recognition.
Schaechter’s stated goal is direct: create a personal, immersive encounter that links self, nature, and imagination. Inside the structure, you are not looking at nature from a distance. You are surrounded by a constructed version of it, and your perception does the rest.
