Eli Langer

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Eli Langer (born Montreal, Canada 1967) is a Canadian visual artist, In 1993, Langer rose to prominence in the Toronto art world with a solo exhibition at the Mercer Union Gallery in Toronto. The exhibition consisted of 5 paintings and 35 drawings addressing various issues of childhood sexuality,to quote the media release prior to the opening of the exhibition:

"Langer's work focuses on the tender and often abject aspects of sexuality and intimacy. His images are largely informed by intuitive personal and social drives, exploring the phenomenon of intimacy where it exists without the compensation of social or cultural consent.In this series of paintings and drawings, Langer often boldly develops a sexual ambiguity that inadvertently addresses our cultural taboos and the formation of morality."

Langer's exhibition at the Mercer coincided with the addition of s. 163.1 (the "Child Pornography" section) to the Canadian Criminal Code. The new section of the Criminal Code forbids any depiction of a person under the age of 18 engaged in an explicit sexual activity or for a sexual purpose. The law makes no distinction between works of the imagination and works that are based on reality. Langer and the director of the Mercer Union Gallery were arrested by Toronto police, however, ultimately the paintings were the only thing put on trial.

The art community rose to Langer's defence. Well-known figures of the art world such as Michael Snow, Avrom Isaacs and Dennis Reid (a former curator of the National Gallery) testified that the works exhibited at the Mercer Union had "artistic merit" (a defence provided by s. 163.1 of the Criminal Code). Ultimately the works were exonerated and returned to Langer.

Langer has not attempted to live up to the media notoriety resulting from this arrest in 1993. His experience of media sensationalism and legal interpretations of his practice at the time--he was in his mid twenties-- did not long interrupt his interests and development as an artist. He has shown painting and other works in international exhibitions none of which referred to the art or controversy of the Mercer Union show and debacle. Langer's most recent Canadian show entitled "The Truth About Los Angeles" featured abstract paintings which dealt more with the temperatures of colour and images of imaginary spaces.

According to Langer, his art practice quickly developed beyond the morality issue fight-picking he did as a younger painter and with which he exhausted his dealing with legal and moralistic entities. He adds that he 'did that' and moved on, seeking clarity and distance from the event and clearing the way for a 'more substantive articulation of ideas and art making practice'.

His next exhibition is at Daniel Hug Gallery (Danielhug.com) in Los Angeles in June 2006.