Leandro Erlich
Opens on 8 October 2025!
The long-awaited exhibition by internationally acclaimed Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich is now on view in Finland for the very first time, offering an experience that challenges our perception of reality.
Amos Rex features the works of artist Leandro Erlich (born 1973 in Buenos Aires, Argentina), whose immersive art, often carried out at huge scale, blurs our perceptions of reality. In Erlich’s playful world, you can climb the façade of a typical Helsinki building, take a seat as a pupil in a ghostly classroom, or investigate a strange elevator lobby to nowhere. Here, the laws of physics do not apply, and those who enter can no longer trust what they see.
The Exhibition
What if a cloud stopped moving? What if an elevator led nowhere?
Erlich’s installations resemble stage sets where familiar, everyday spaces – an elevator, a classroom, a train ride – suddenly start to behave in unexpected ways. The exhibition moves from quiet wonder to active participation: the viewer is not just a bystander but an essential part of the artworks. Illusions that defy the rules of architecture, gravity, and perspective unsettle our sense of reality and raise questions: Can we trust our senses? And what about the things we believe to be true?
The journey begins with the dreamlike work Cloud and continues through Sidewalk, Lost Garden, and Elevator Maze, culminating in the iconic Bâtiment where a Helsinki Art Nouveau façade turns into a surreal playground. Here, people appear to float weightlessly and walk on walls – and eventually, the viewer becomes part of this magical scene.
From the artist’s perspective, these works can be seen as a collection of short stories, each with its own narrative. Erlich explores reality through the lenses of seeing, perception, and interaction, creating installations that challenge us to look at the familiar with fresh eyes. In the exhibition, these stories intertwine into a whole that transforms our understanding of what the world around us could be. It offers space for wonder, play, and imagination and reminds us that reality can sometimes be stranger than fiction.
At Amos Rex, Leandro Erlich’s work is presented for the first time in Finland and the Nordic countries. The exhibition is curated by Anastasia Isakova and Kai Kartio.
The Artist
Leandro Erlich (b. 1973, Buenos Aires) is an Argentinian installation and conceptual artist who lives and works between three cities in South America and Europe: Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Paris.
Erlich’s artistic career spans four decades. He held his first solo exhibition in Buenos Aires in 1991 at the age of just 18. A pivotal year came in 2001 when Erlich represented Argentina at the Venice Biennale and presented one of his most renowned works, Swimming Pool (1999). The piece is permanently installed at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan.
His work has been shown at numerous international biennials and in solo and group exhibitions in countries including Brazil, Japan, the United States, and Spain, and it is part of major collections such as Tate Modern, Towada Art Center, and Centre Pompidou.
Erlich has received multiple awards for his work: in 2017, he was granted the Roy Neuberger Exhibition Award, and in 2001, the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award. He has also been nominated for prestigious prizes including the Zurich Art Prize (2017), Prix Marcel Duchamp (2006), and the UNESCO Award (2001).
