Liesl Raff: A Corridor, a Room, and Four Dens
Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Maag Areal, Zurich
February 7 – March 21, 2025
In her latest exhibition, “A Corridor, a Room, and Four Dens” at Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zurich, Vienna-based artist Liesl Raff delves into the interplay between materiality and spatial experience. The show, which runs from February 7 to March 21, 2025, marks Raff’s debut solo presentation with the gallery. By unveiling the gallery’s long-concealed window front and removing walls, Raff invites natural light to engage with her installations, creating a dynamic dialogue between the works and their environment.
Central to the exhibition is an expansive, corridor-like structure that transforms into a larger form, dividing the gallery’s rear into a new room. This installation comprises a series of steel frames, each enveloped in self-made latex sheets, meticulously squeezed and secured around the edges with custom-designed clamps. Visitors are encouraged to traverse this L-shaped pathway, immersing themselves in a sensory-rich environment where colors, scents, and shifting light coalesce. As one navigates these corridors, the initial haptic impressions give way to deeper physical sensations, fostering a space for introspection and emotional resonance.
Suspended from the ceiling near the exhibition’s conclusion are the “Four Dens,” a cluster of voluminous forms that invite contemplation. These hanging structures, resembling figures, assert a quiet yet palpable presence. As visitors observe others navigating the same pathways, a subtle interplay of shared experience and individual nuance emerges, highlighting both commonality and difference. Raff refers to these environments as “Konzentrationsräume” (spaces of concentration), envisioned as sanctuaries for self-performance and transformation—a place for retreat, reflection, and connection.
Raff’s work resonates in its ability to transform architectural elements into living, breathing entities. The interplay of light filtering through the latex sheets, the subtle shifts in translucency, and the way the material appears both fragile and resilient create an uncanny tension. The corridor-like installation, in particular, suggests movement—both literal and psychological—as visitors navigate its contours. There is a bodily engagement at play, where touch, sight, and even scent intertwine, reinforcing Raff’s fascination with how materials shape perception. In this way, the exhibition is not just seen but experienced, an invitation to inhabit the liminal space between sculpture and sensation.
