Leandro Erlich: Liminal

Liminal has been conceived as a sequence of spaces that one might encounter in the course of an ordinary day: elevator, subway, classroom, hair salon, sidewalk, swimming pool, laundry room—even a window through which the neighbors’ windows can be seen. Each space is fabricated to serve as a precise simulation of the place it references, so that the encounter with Erlich’s illusion tends to occur as a surprise on the viewer’s part that such an ordinary spot should conceal such extraordinary qualities.

The exhibition’s title refers to a transitional zone located at the threshold of another space, and indirectly suggests being on the verge of crossing over, or entering into, a new destination or state of existence—a sensation reinforced in Erlich’s work. To hover at the liminal edge of an experience suggests being caught between a prior reality that has been left behind, and a new reality beckoning at close range, but always slightly beyond our grasp. Erlich’s work suggests that despite our collective pride at being able to instinctually locate ourselves within the physical world, the truth is that most of us are engaged in an extended game of probability and chance, in which situations that can only be real within our dreams cast a spell of enchantment over our waking lives. The accumulated impact of experiencing multiple Erlich works within a single exhibition tends to leave viewers with an intensified awareness of this inherent duality about daily life.

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