21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

In one of the Museum’s courtyards is a swimming pool framed by a limestone deck. When seen from the deck, the pool appears to be filled with deep, shimmering water. In fact, however, a layer of water only some 10 centimeters deep is suspended over transparent glass. Below the glass is an empty space with aquamarine walls that viewers can enter. The work sets up an unfolding sequence of experiences—we view the pool through the glass wall enclosing the courtyard; from the deck, looking down into the pool; and from the interior of the pool, looking up. The Swimming Pool might hence be considered a place where, slowly, with time, different perspectives and perceptions of self and others all come to intersect.

Leandro ERLICH
Born in Buenos Aires in 1973. Lives and works in Buenos Aires.
Leandro Erlich employs artworks to explore the ways we understand phenomena, enter into relationships with spaces, and grasp reality. An Erlich creation transforms an entire space into a world of humor and wit, and throws viewers’ perceptions into confusion. Such works investigate perception and cognition not with the rigor of scientific experimentation but with wonder and delight, in a dimension of trompe-l'œil. Faced with “reality in suspension,” we are forced to re-examine the very nature of our existence and reconsider how we perceive the world and position ourselves in accord with it.

Production year: 2004
Media and technique: concrete, glass
Size: H280 x W402 x D697 cm