Thousands of visitors have posed on his trompe-l’oeil facades, he made the pointed tip of the Buenos Aires Obelisk disappear and he even tricked visitors into thinking they were seeing others underwater in a giant pool.
Argentina’s Leandro Erlich is shaking up the art world with his wonderful world of illusions.
The 44-year-old conceptual artist divides his time between his hometown, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo, the very livable capital of neighboring Uruguay.
Photo: AFP
In his dream factory — a three-story studio in the Villa Crespo residential area of Buenos Aires shielded from the road by a giant metal barrier — Erlich creates his giant installations, which have earned cult status in London, Paris and New York.
Erlich has managed to wow both art amateurs and discerning critics with his work. The biggest display of his work to date — 44 pieces in total — has drawn 400,000 visitors to the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, where it runs until April 1.
“Erlich stimulates the senses, not just the intellect. He’s asking patrons to live through an experience, as one does at the theater,” said Andres Duprat, director of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires.
“Not only are his works making waves in the art world, they are reaching a much wider public,” Duprat said. “This is not someone who is doing special effects. He’s showing how it all works. Once the visitor understands the work, he or she can begin to savor it and reflect on it.”
In Port of Reflections, colorful rowboats seem to float — except there is no water.
Swimming Pool sees people walk fully clothed into a pool — except there is no pool. Elevator Maze, a matrix of elevator banks, confuses patrons when they do not see their own reflection in the mirror.
Visitors are thrilled, confused, annoyed or experience an emotion somewhere in between — but they are never indifferent.
“When a work is well received, it brings great satisfaction. It opens up opportunities for the future. In concrete terms, my projects are difficult to do,” Erlich told reporters.
“There is no single format,” he added. “I’ve done video, sculpture, photography and of course installations. The idea of conceptual art is now broad enough to include all forms of expression.”
Erlich’s works play with optical illusions and our perception of sound. At his studio in Buenos Aires, he works with craftspeople and designers to bring his vision to life.
His team “came together over time and depending on need,” Erlich said.
“Fifteen or 16 years ago, I did one or two projects a year. Now, it’s more like four,” he said.
In Montevideo, he found refuge and the “distance” needed to work.
“I have lived for a long time away from Buenos Aires — five years in the United States, five years in France, before returning to South America,” Erlich said.
In the Uruguayan capital, he finds inspiration and time to think.
“I have trouble working in places where there is too much stimulation, too much noise,” he said.
“With globalization, the world is smaller now. My universe is indisputably very ‘Rioplatense,’” he said — an adjective describing the Rio de la Plata estuary separating Argentina and Uruguay.
In Buenos Aires, many remember when he made the tip of the obelisk vanish in 2015. He covered the point with a sort of square cap, giving the impression it was cut off. In tandem, a replica of the tip was built and placed in a museum.
“The idea was for people to take back the monument,” which cannot be entered, he said.
The artist’s work has been displayed in cities around the world — Taipei, New York, Paris, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Venice, Seoul, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, to name a few.
In Building, visitors from a dozen countries placed themselves on a building facade installed on the ground, but reflected in a mirror to the side.
“All of my work has an aspect of public participation,” Erlich said. “The starting point is my passion for challenges and being able to express my ideas.”
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was