The swimming pool

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (沢沢21世紀美術館, Kanazawa Nijūichiseiki Bijutsukan) opened in 2004 in the center of Kanazawa, just steps from Kenrokuen. It exhibits works by acclaimed contemporary artists from Japan and around the world and is among the most famous art museums in Japan.
The museum was designed by two famous Japanese architects, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the SANAA architecture studio and winners of the Pritzker Prize in 2010.

The architecture of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art is unique and sets it apart from other museums and buildings around Kanazawa. The museum consists of a circular building, 112,5 meters in diameter, with no front or main entrance. Designed without a front or back to discourage its patrons from approaching the museum, and therefore its art, from only one direction.
The spaces of the museum are interspersed with some artistic installations, these include works such as “Swimming Pool” by Leandro Erlich.

The Argentine artist has created an illusory pool that appears to be filled with water. Installed as a permanent exhibit at the museum, the water in the pool is actually only 10 cm deep, supported by a thick layer of transparent structural glass.

Below is an aquamarine room that viewers can enter, participating in a shared experience of wonder, both from above and below. In her work, Erlich plays with perception in an exploration of “the ways in which we understand phenomena, engage with spaces, and grasp reality.”

And when you look up you can see the other museum explorers through the glass and water ceiling.

Leandro Erlich “I hope that the experience of this show can help people notice and understand one fact: how our habits and/or actions taken unconsciously, in fact, shape our behaviors and how stereotypical images endure beyond perception.
I think it would provide a catalyst for each of them to take a fresh look at what is really happening around us and ask, 'Is there more than one reality?' "

Leandro ERLICH
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1973. Lives there. Through works that mine the human senses, Leandro Erlich explores the ways in which we understand phenomena, relate to spaces and grasp reality. Erlich's works investigate perception and cognition not with the rigor of scientific experimentation but with rich humor and wit, in a dimension of trompe-l'oeil. The works relax the relationships between spectators who experience them together and produce a place they can share.

All images © courtesy of Leandro erlich  //   http://www.leandroerlich.art/