Tel Aviv is a place known for its rich history that is obvious when walking along the city streets. Founded in 1909, the city thrives as an architectural gem, with contemporary buildings sitting alongside Bauhaus and other modernist styles. It is here, within this high tech city, that Liat Elbling finds her inspiration. In her studio, she constructs architectural models made from wood, clay, plaster, paper and paint. These fictitious spaces, printed and painted in a singular color, are inspired by her surroundings. Working within the same tradition as James Casebere, Lori Nix and Thomas Demand, Elbling’s framed photographs create a dialogue about perception and reality.

Like many still-life photographers, Elbling cuts, tapes and assembles objects on a table, condensing or expanding the physical space through meticulous lighting. Proposals for Disorder presents 23 photographs that examine how the construction of a space can affect ones mood. A gray room can be both soothing and non-descript; red is the color of passion and danger; merlot the color of a soothing wine. In each of these scenarios, Elbling uses color to create an atmosphere that invites the viewer into a world that is as comforting as it is suspenseful. As she states, it is her desire to “return to art’s basic characteristics: perspective, light and shade, examining the relationship between two and three dimensionality, and the blending of materials, colors and textures.”

Liat Elbling was born in Ramat-Gan, Israel (1980) and currently lives in Tel Aviv. In 2009, she graduated with honors from the Department of Photography at the Minshar School of Art and has since been working full-time as an artist. Elbling’s work has been shown in numerous exhibitions throughout Israel, and in solo shows in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Belgium. Most notably, she had a solo exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 2011 after receiving the prestigious Leon Constantiner Prize for an Israeli photographer.