View from the top: Leandro Erlich’s Swimming Pool at PS1 Contemporary Art CenterPhoto by Kristin Killory

New Yorkers have had a rough run of rainy weather this year but despite the torrential and seemingly endless downpour, there is respite. Rain or shine, Argentine artist Leandro Erlich had exactly the right antidote with his venerable installation “Swimming Pool”, an enthralling and immersive installation at PS1 that happily reminds us about the eternal delights of splashing, swimming, lounging and dare I say, summer?

View from the bottom: The multi-dimensional installation takes over the museum’s duplex gallery

Swimming Pool is exactly that. A full-sized replica of a real pool with ladder, deck and water except Erlich’s version is a visual illusion. When viewed from the top, it appears to have the appearance of a body of water but upon closer inspection, viewers can see guests from the basement level fully-clothed, walking around, under the surface.

Swimming Pool will be up until October 24, 2009

Swimming Pool’s journey to New York was a ten year sojourn. As a student in Texas back in 1999, Erlich was convinced that the duplex gallery at PS1 was the place for it. The piece was originally debuted at the 2001 Venice Biennale and has since traveled to Japan and now here in the US. Besides the immediate notion and feelings that a pool brings out in all of us, there is something remarkably communal about its meaning. Nowhere is this more evident than in the way viewers interact as they find themselves around and inside the piece. Though Swimming Pool is not the first novel interactive installation, its meaning, which conjures images of sunshine and happy, carefree times, as well as its presence, which holds a timeless appeal, is up at a time when it is much needed and most welcome. So if you find yourself in New York City or need a break from the rain or merely need a change of scenery, go get “wet” and “immerse” yourself.