Leandro Erlich, architect of the uncertain, on show in Milan – Milan

Milano – Floating clouds enclosed in display cases invite the public to enter a cabinet of curiosities. Impregnable elevators without direction give way to three boats that seem to float on a body of water, putting us in front of our stereotypes and preconceptions. A somewhat special hair salon gives way to urban landscapes that flow past what appears to be the window of a subway or a train, as we cross impossible distances in milliseconds, going from Tokyo to New York.
Architect of the uncertain, Leandro Erlich creates spaces with fluid and unstable boundaries. For the first European exhibition the artist brings together from 22 April to 4 October at Palazzo Reale his most famous and iconic works.

Leandro Erlich, Scala Infinite, 2005, Metal structure, floor, handrail, mirrors and lights

Promoted by the Municipality of Milan-Culture, produced and organized by Palazzo Reale and Arthemisia, in collaboration with Studio Erlich, curated by Francesco Stocchi, Leander Erlich. Beyond the threshold accompanies visitors to a magical elsewhere through 19 works capable of subverting normality and opening a window on the sensitive world, revealing the visual deceptions that challenge the mind, opening up new questions and horizons.

“Erlich’s creations – explains the curator of the exhibition Francesco Stocchi – are architectural structures that function like optical machines that question the sensitive data of the world. With the exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, Erlich has chosen Italy as the place of choice for the presentation of the ambitious project which, through the staging of newly perceived spaces, stimulates reflection and contemplation”.

Leandro Erlich, Clouds, 2021, digital ceramic ink printed on ultra-transparent glass, wooden case and LED lights

Characterized by stratified and complex reading levels, the works on display prove that, freeing ourselves from the notions acquired through experience, each of us can experience our own dimension, discovering a new type of world. In the courtyard of the Royal Palace Building, the monumental site-specific installation created in 2004 for the Nuit Blanche in Paris reveals a surprising world. The facade of a building, with balconies, friezes, canopies, rests horizontally on the ground. Visitors virtually “hang” from the decorations, while a large mirror inclined at 45 degrees reflects the image on the ground in a vertical plane, giving the illusion of a real facade and the sensation that the law of gravity no longer exists.

Leandro Erlich, Shikumen, 2004