Ariel Schlesinger - Poetic Destruction (en) - a podcast by CastYourArt.com

Ariel Schlesinger - Poetic Destruction

In the modern, functionally disenchanted world, those who seek out magical moments must first acknowledge reality, but still hold on to the belief that that which is possible can reveal itself in reality. The magic of enchantment exists in transformation. It is based on the ability of the ordinary, banal, and overlooked to wake the fantasy buried within ourselves.

Two parallel curved pencils experience togetherness. Small flames burn from the valves of the tires of a casually parked bicycle. Lighters positioned next to each other share an adjoining flame. The Israeli artist Ariel Schlesinger describes himself as a little romantic. His sense for the fantastic and awareness of the possible as that which is overlooked in reality are two jumping-off points for his art, which magically draws in and fascinates viewers through subtle interventions.

Ariel Schlesinger grew up in Israel and studied at the Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and the School of Visual Arts in New York. Currently, he lives and seeks out magical moments in Berlin and Tel Aviv. His art is characterized by object art and installation.

In his work, Schlesinger uses found objects, building them up into larger works. Installed on a stepladder with cable straps, a cheap power drill on its last legs of battery power propels a gear that ends with a showerhead, which in turn releases a gas-filled soap bubble that floats down and bursts with a loud bang into the reality of an incandescent grid.

The relics from everyday life gathered by the artist seem to be cobbled together in their artistic reconstruction. The do-it-yourself aesthetic prevails: one can also be enchanted by simple things—as a child constantly experiences in play—which are often veiled by the slick product design that is the result of a lack of imagination in the adult world.
(wh/jn)

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