Inspired and informed by Buddhist thought and motifs, the artist’s three-dimensional works explore the idea of existence, focusing especially on one of the core teachings of Buddhism: the conscious detachment from the illusions of the earthly realm and the escape from samsara(the repeating cycle of life and death).

“I think the general goal in my work is to transcend the viewer’s perception”, says Weinreb, “and take it to a space or existence that lies beyond our comprehension”. The essence of his practice can thus be viewed as the search for something that is invisible to us, or that has yet to be elucidated in a graspable way—something that transcends all the phenomena surrounding modern life, including everyday events, social and political happenings, and specific ideologies.

In these mesmerising new works, Weinreb has adopted concrete Buddhist motifs such as offering bowls, sutras and stupas, as well as highly abstract forms that resemble vessels, containers and lighthouses. The addition of light to these pieces is perhaps an attempt to usher our consciousness into a realm beyond the façades that we see.

What, exactly, lies beyond these façades? Confronting these sculptures, we may perhaps find that the realm beyond the consciousness or psychological abyss we stare at is, in fact, connected to something that transcends human understanding, and which cannot be substituted with tangible images or words.

A fully illustrated catalogue with an essay by Mami Kataoka, chief curator of Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, accompanies the exhibition.