Welcome to the 25th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode we’ll dive into the fragility of our perceptions with Leandro Erlich, exploring our wrongful assumptions of reality through exhibition.
Argentina native Leandro Erlich was born in 1973 and has retained a child-like spirit ever since. Entering into the world of fine arts at a young age, the atmosphere in his homeland was rather suppressive, controlled under a military dictatorship. The environment made creating a challenge, and viewing with perspective a feat, “It was a time when we could not see a thing freely as it was,” Erlich recalled.
Once at liberty from the confined regime, 21 year old Leandro Erlich worked in art studio “Taller de Barrascadin” (1994), and began drinking beer every Saturday alongside artist Luis Felipe. Erlich’s educational career was far from stagnant, as he yearned for a sense of true identity, his calling per se. He learned from those around him, and art forms present in the everyday.
From 98’-00’ Erlich then moved to Houston, Texas and enrolled in the Core Program at the Museum of Fine Arts, marking the beginning of his professional career. Nominated to represent Argentina at the prolific 49th Venice Biennale in 2001, he drew from the restrictive, blurred vision Argentina’s dictatorship once ensued - bringing to life what is now known as ‘Swimming Pool’.
From above, the installation ‘Swimming Pool’ is exactly that, a concrete pool with water, ladder, floor and of course, people. However, an aura of dismay slowly seeps into the mind when those underwater begin to move fluently, and fully dressed at that. Beneath a mere 10cm of water, a layer of glass withholds a break in perception to those atop. For those below, a shift in insight overlays the preconceived notion this space once was, for the illusion can no longer be viewed.
By breaking and reforming one’s perspective, Leandro Erlich is successful in demonstrating the brittle reality we often rely on, falsely submitting to one point of view.
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