thousands of recycled CDs form reflective vertical sculptures in tara donovan's stratagems

"Tara Donovan presents Stratagems at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF), at the Transamerica Pyramid Center, installing a group of vertically oriented sculptures made entirely from thousands of recycled CDs. On view until July 31st, 2026, the exhibition is installed within the transparent Annex space. Stratagems enters into a deliberate exchange with the Transamerica Pyramid itself. The sculptures echo the skyscraper's verticality and reflective skin, while their recycled material introduces a counterpoint to the monumentality of the building."

"Donovan's practice is grounded in a sustained investigation of accumulation and transformation. For more than two decades, she has worked with ordinary, mass-produced materials, plastic cups, rubber bands, paper plates, tape, and straws, subjecting them to repetition until their individual identities dissolve into larger systems. Earlier works, including Transplanted, Nebulous, and Haze, transformed industrial materials into environments that evoked fog, geological formations, or organic growth."

"When ICA SF invited me to be part of their evolution across the city, I could not imagine a more perfect site to bring these works than the soaring Transamerica Pyramid Center. I am always fixated on the ways that sculptures transform space and experience, and in this context, an intention of these sculptures to engage the understanding of urban architecture can be fully realized."

Tara Donovan's Stratagems installs vertically oriented sculptures constructed from thousands of recycled CDs inside the transparent Annex of the Transamerica Pyramid Center at ICA SF. The works mirror the building’s verticality and reflective surface while the recycled material creates a counterpoint to monumental architecture. The installation occupies a deliberate site-specific relationship with the skyscraper, using accumulation and repetition to dissolve individual elements into larger sculptural systems. The practice has long repurposed mass-produced materials—plastic cups, rubber bands, paper plates, tape, and straws—to evoke fog, geological formations, and urban expansion. Stratagems shifts the focus toward urban scale and the city itself.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine