Skin is the body’s largest organ. It is also the barrier between the outside and the others, and the inside and the self. Im mentioning this cause Lukas Luzius Leichtle’s hypnotizingly uncanny and technically superb paintings are a lot about that, and I was happy to be reminded of it when visiting his current Berlin show at CCA Berlin, curated by Fabian Schöneich and Nan Xi.
Besides the unique atmosphere of these, what is so special about them (and which, pretty much can’t be photographed, so you have to take my word) are the incredibly rich, delicate, tactile surfaces. By layering transparent pigment, then removing it w sandpaper or an electric nail filer, Leichtle is building skin-like surfaces in which the weave of the canvas is still visible, delicately packed w a range of hues. Usually working w a fairly plain reference, it’s the imprimatura approach that adds a striking glow or luminosity, emphasizing the surface and the volume. So, regardless of whether portraying part of the body, a drape-like skin composition, or a tiled interior corner, they all feel exceptionally real, tactile, and uncanny. Leichtle arrives at this by going close-up and dramatically cropping a familiar reference, usually part of a body in a somewhat uncomfortable, tensed, theatrical, even deformed pose.
And with this particular presentation, all those qualities are emphasized w the sterile, bureaucratic environment in which these paintings are hanging. Housed inside a brutalist building, the wood-paneled office spaces are creating distance between each piece, both giving them individual prominence as well as completely removing their sentience. In such an environment, the psychological tension of these visuals gets intensified as the snapshots of generally familiar, everyday, yet exceptionally sensitive moments feel further removed from their usual intimate sphere. Facing them in these empty, retro office spaces, they feel aged, even timeless, which adds to their almost palpable tension. Through this, the effect of suspense is elevated, the idea of possible resolution almost completely disappears, and the viewer becomes Eindringling (Intruder). —Saša Bogojev
Lukas Luzius Leichtle’s Eindringling is on view at CCA Berlin through December 20, 2025.
