Things as They Are
Julie M. Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel, 2015
Curator: Yair Barak
"The history of avant-garde painting is that of a progressive surrender to the resistance of its medium; which resistance consists chiefly in the flat picture plane's denial of efforts to 'hole through' it for realistic perspectival space." Clement Greenberg, Towards a Newer Laocoon (1940)
What you see is not a space. It is not a painting. No, this is not a sculpture, nor is it a photograph.
Liat Elbling's new works, largely as an extension of her earlier actions, albeit in a different manner – are a deceptive act of witchcraft. As a magician without a cape and a wand, she collects materials and objects into the studio and organizes them carefully, adds a paint potion, sprinkles lighting dust. The image that emerges is charged with magic, imbued with mystery, and incredibly beautiful. Ostensibly, these works strive to enchant and seduce. Another, more discerning examination offers an orchestrated reflection on the field in which Elbling operates...
