A Fake Pool Makes A Splash All Over The World.

Initially conceived of 12 years ago, the 'fake' swimming pool by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich, known for his illusion-like installations, has been featured at various museums around the world. In 2001, it was featured at the 49th Venice Biennale in Arentina. In 2004, it found a permanent home at the 21st Century Art Museum in Kanazawa, Japan. In 2008, the fake pool was set up for a 2 year installation at MoMA's PS1 Contemporary Art Center. And as of December 2010, the pool was being installed in the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia.

In Japan:




For the long-term exhibit at the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, he constructed a full-size pool [20 x 9 7/8 x 10 feet (600 x 280 x 300 cm)], complete with a surrounding deck [the installation in Japan's museum does not have a wood deck], underwater pool lights and ladder.



When one first approached upon the amazingly surreal piece from the ground floor, it appeared that people, fully clothed, were standing underwater, alive and engaged in conversation, on the floor of what appeared to be a very real swimming pool.




However, when examining the pool from underneath, one sees that it's actually empty and the illusion of the water-filled space is achieved by his placing a large piece of transparent laminated glass suspended over the pool atop which lies some actual water.





The interior of the pool's walls are painted aqua to further add to the illusion.


One enters through pool through the opening shown below:


Here are the installation photos of the pool's latest appearance at The Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia:



Artist's Bio [courtesy of Sean Kelly Gallery]


Leandro Erlich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1973. At age 20, he won a grant from the Antorchas Foundation to take an advanced sculpture and installation workshop under the direction of Luis F. Benedit and Pablo Suárez. Between 1998 and 1999 he took part in the Core Program, an artist-in-residence program in Houston, Texas, U.S.

In 1999 he moved to New York and presented his first exhibition in a commercial New York gallery. Over the next two years he participated in the Whitney Biennial and represented Argentina at the 49th Venice Biennale (2001).

Erlich's works are in several private and public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Tate Modern, London; Musee d'Art moderne, Paris; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan; MACRO, Rome; and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Fonds national d'art contemporain (FNAC), Paris.

Erlich lives and works in Paris, France, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

images and info courtesy of the following:
The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan
MoMA PS1
Somethingstartedcrazy on Flickr
Building process photos in Brisbane by Natasha Harth courtesy of 21c blog

Buildings Taken Over By Giants In Athens, Greece. A Shoboshobo Art Installation.

The following images are of an unusual art exhibit by Shoboshobo in Atopos, Athens, Greece. The exhibit ran from November to December 2010.

















The installation included:
Building 5 giants displayed in the space
Building 1 twin big giant displayed in 2 pieces
1 wall drawing black on white
1 room all-over drawing white on black
Molo drawing series of 50 pieces
Various drawings
Soldier drawings (series of 125 pieces)
New series of 15 silk screen prints made by Decapitron E*Rock+Hendrik Hegray+Shoboshobo

all images courtesy of Shoboshobo

Stickwork. A New Book Featuring The Amazing Work Of Patrick Dougherty.

Sometimes It's really nice to pick up an old fashioned book and be made aware of something compelling that may not have been posted on Facebook or Twitter or recently posted on numerous popular blogs. Such is the case when I opened up Princeton Architectural Press' recently published Stickwork, featuring the amazing twig, branch and tree-like sculptural installations of artist Patrick Dougherty.



above: Patrick lives in his handmade house of log in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife Linda and son Sam. photo courtesy of flickr.

The 208 page paperback book features 230 color and 20 black and white images of the dynamic installations and monumental sculptures that resemble huts, cocoons, castles, beehives and even human figures.


above image courtesy of flickr

Over the last twenty-five years, Dougherty has built more than two hundred works throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia that range from stand-alone structures to a kind of modern primitive architecture—every piece mesmerizing in its ability to fly through trees, overtake buildings, and virtually defy gravity.


above photo courtesy of flickr



His sculptural installations have appeared indoors, outdoors, in urban areas and countrysides, on college campuses and in museums all over the world. Here's a look at just some of them:




above photo courtesy of flickr


above photo courtesy of flickr




above photo courtesy of flickr




above photo courtesy of flickr



A time lapse video of his installation at ad agency Wieden And Kennedy:


View the process of his sculpture in the Parklands with photos by James Fraher

Stickwork, Dougherty's first monograph, features thirty-eight of his organic, dynamic works that twist the line between architecture, landscape, and art. Constructed on-site using locally sourced materials and local volunteer labor, Dougherty's sculptures are tangles of twigs and branches that have been transformed into something unexpected and wild, elegant and artful, and often humorous. Sometimes freestanding, and other times wrapping around trees, buildings, railings, and rooms, they are constructed indoors and in nature. As organic matter, the stick sculptures eventually disintegrate and fade back into the landscape. Featuring a wealth of photographs and drawings documenting the construction process of each remarkable structure, Stickwork preserves the legend of the man who weaves the simplest of materials into a singular artistic triumph. The book is also available in hardcover.


Buy the book from the publisher here.
or from Amazon

Note: most of these images are courtesy of the artist, however, some came from these talented folks on flickr and the Patrick Dougherty flickr pool. If your photo is in this post and has not been credited to you, it is an oversight. Please contact me and I will put the proper credit or remove the image of you wish.