Leandro Erlich
08 Nov 2008 - 17 Jan 2009
LEANDRO ERLICH
Nov 8, 2008 - Jan 17, 2009
NoguerasBlanchard is proud to present the second gallery exhibition of Leandro Erlich (Buenos Aires, 1973). This exhibition is articulated around a selection of Erlich’s maquettes, which reproduce the artist’s architectural installations to the minutest detail, coinciding with his exhibition in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid.
For the first time shown as a body of work, these objects, hybrids between art and architecture, are a crucial part of Erlich’s creative process. Acting as manageable prototypes they allow him to explore spatial dimensions and simulate a project on a smaller scale while they point to his work’s “relationship with a scientific precision, that reinforces a certain rational and logical sense which helps me to contruct reality”. In this way, Erlich shows us the mechanism behind his installations and allows the viewer to experience his optical illusions from contemplation rather than interaction. The maquettes in this exhibition were conceived as preparatory studies for projects such as La Torre (2007), on view at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; Carrousel (2008) produced for the Liverpool Biennial; Batiment (2004); Window and Ladder (2008) currently in the New Orleans Biennial ; Staircase (2005); Elevator Maze a yet unrealized project.
Leandro Erlich creates installations in which the architectural elements are used to form spaces designed for the perception of pretence. His works reveal a living room, a swimming pool, an elevator, familiar spaces that he deprives of their essence in a game of optical illusions, inversions and reflections. Erlich’s intriguing structures take over places that are part of everyday life, transforming them into a scenario that stimulates the mental and physical activity of the observer who, by interacting with the surrounding space becomes an integral part of a complex narrative structure. His employment of reflective materials and their use in the exploration of perception through spatial games, mirror reflections and transparent glass can be traced to the practice of conceptual artists such as Dan Graham.
The ephemeral nature of Erlich’s installations, continuing the tradition of artists such as Christo and Jean-Claude, endorses the significance of these maquettes not only as a crucial part of the artistic process which captures the creative immediacy of the whole project, but as testimonies of larger works which may no longer actually exist.
Leandro Erlich has participated in the II Singapore Biennial (2008), the V Liverpool Biennial (2008) and in Prospect I, New Orleans Biennial (2008), XXVI Sao Paulo Biennial (2004), Shanghai Biennial (2002), VII Istanbul Biennial (2001), VII Havana Biennial (2000) and the Whitney Biennial (2000). His exhibitions include MACRO, Rome (2006) ; Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2006); The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japón (2004); Centre d ́Art Santa Mónica, Barcelona (2003). In 2005 he was selected for the Italian Pavillion in the en la 51a Venice Biennial and in 2001 he represented Argentina in the 49th Venice Biennial with his work Swimming Pool. Currently he has solo shows in PS1, New York and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
Leandro Erlich lives and works in Buenos Aires.
Nov 8, 2008 - Jan 17, 2009
NoguerasBlanchard is proud to present the second gallery exhibition of Leandro Erlich (Buenos Aires, 1973). This exhibition is articulated around a selection of Erlich’s maquettes, which reproduce the artist’s architectural installations to the minutest detail, coinciding with his exhibition in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid.
For the first time shown as a body of work, these objects, hybrids between art and architecture, are a crucial part of Erlich’s creative process. Acting as manageable prototypes they allow him to explore spatial dimensions and simulate a project on a smaller scale while they point to his work’s “relationship with a scientific precision, that reinforces a certain rational and logical sense which helps me to contruct reality”. In this way, Erlich shows us the mechanism behind his installations and allows the viewer to experience his optical illusions from contemplation rather than interaction. The maquettes in this exhibition were conceived as preparatory studies for projects such as La Torre (2007), on view at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; Carrousel (2008) produced for the Liverpool Biennial; Batiment (2004); Window and Ladder (2008) currently in the New Orleans Biennial ; Staircase (2005); Elevator Maze a yet unrealized project.
Leandro Erlich creates installations in which the architectural elements are used to form spaces designed for the perception of pretence. His works reveal a living room, a swimming pool, an elevator, familiar spaces that he deprives of their essence in a game of optical illusions, inversions and reflections. Erlich’s intriguing structures take over places that are part of everyday life, transforming them into a scenario that stimulates the mental and physical activity of the observer who, by interacting with the surrounding space becomes an integral part of a complex narrative structure. His employment of reflective materials and their use in the exploration of perception through spatial games, mirror reflections and transparent glass can be traced to the practice of conceptual artists such as Dan Graham.
The ephemeral nature of Erlich’s installations, continuing the tradition of artists such as Christo and Jean-Claude, endorses the significance of these maquettes not only as a crucial part of the artistic process which captures the creative immediacy of the whole project, but as testimonies of larger works which may no longer actually exist.
Leandro Erlich has participated in the II Singapore Biennial (2008), the V Liverpool Biennial (2008) and in Prospect I, New Orleans Biennial (2008), XXVI Sao Paulo Biennial (2004), Shanghai Biennial (2002), VII Istanbul Biennial (2001), VII Havana Biennial (2000) and the Whitney Biennial (2000). His exhibitions include MACRO, Rome (2006) ; Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2006); The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japón (2004); Centre d ́Art Santa Mónica, Barcelona (2003). In 2005 he was selected for the Italian Pavillion in the en la 51a Venice Biennial and in 2001 he represented Argentina in the 49th Venice Biennial with his work Swimming Pool. Currently he has solo shows in PS1, New York and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
Leandro Erlich lives and works in Buenos Aires.