Exhibition
Leandro Erlich
Exhibition
Leandro Erlich
Exhibition at the Grand Palais Paris
Leandro Erlich
Leandro Erlich – The Power of Perspective
Exhibition at the Grand Palais, Paris
2 June to 6 September 2026
On a beautiful summer day in Paris, Anne set out to visit two exhibitions that challenge our perception and explore its limits.
The first takes place at the Grand Palais and is dedicated to the work of the artist Leandro Erlich. The second is Clair-Obscur at the Bourse de Commerce.
In their own distinct ways, both exhibitions celebrate the ambiguity between reality and illusion, between visible presence and hidden meaning.
The details
at a glance
Exhibition
Leandro Erlich – The Power of Perspective
2 June to 6 September 2026
Opening Hours
Monday to Sunday, 10.00 – 20.00 h
Fridays until 22.00 h
Last admission 1 hour before closing.
Special opening hours:
Closed on 14 July.
The gallery will close at 15.00 h on 26 July.
Prices
EUR 19 for adults
EUR 16 for 18-25 year olds
EUR 10 for 5-17 year olds
Free for children under 5 and people with disabilities
Tickets via the official website
Info
Entrance via the Clarence Dillon Rotunda.
Some installations may require a wait, as they are interactive and allow for photo opportunities.
ICOM Card
Free admission for ICOM Members.
Who is
Leandro Erlich?
Leandro Erlich (born 1973 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an internationally acclaimed conceptual artist. He is best known for his immersive installations that challenge our perception of reality, most notably his iconic work Swimming Pool, which has been exhibited at institutions including MoMA PS1 in New York and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan.
Erlich began his artistic career at the age of eighteen with a solo exhibition at the Centro Cultural Recoleta in Buenos Aires. Supported by a scholarship, he later joined the prestigious Core Program in Houston, where he developed some of his most characteristic works. He represented Argentina at the Venice Biennale in 2001 and 2005 and has also participated in major international biennials in Istanbul, Shanghai and São Paulo. Between 2002 and 2006, he lived and worked in Paris.
A major milestone in his career was the 2017 retrospective at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, which attracted more than 650,000 visitors. Today, Erlich is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary artists in Latin America. He lives and works between Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Paris.
His accolades include the Roy Neuberger Exhibition Award (2017), as well as nominations for the Prix Marcel Duchamp (2006) and the UNESCO Award (2001).
Photo: Unsolicited screenshot from the © Leandro Erlich website.
The Grand Palais is one of Paris’s leading venues for exhibitions and events. If you enter through Entrance Rotonde Clarence Dillon, you will find the entrance to the largest retrospective ever devoted to Leandro Erlich in Europe. In a way, the exhibition begins with a game of hide-and-seek, as the Grand Palais has five different entrances, each leading to a different exhibition (and unfortunately, your ticket is only valid for this one).
At EUR 19, admission is not exactly cheap, but it is well worth it. The installations invite visitors to engage with them in the most literal sense: you can touch them, walk into them and even move around within them. This perfectly reflects Erlich’s philosophy, which sees viewers as co-creators of his works through their perception and actions.
These installations are far more than visual tricks. They raise fundamental questions: Do we only believe what we see? Or do we only see what we believe? How do we construct reality? What is real? In an age when digital worlds and virtual realities are becoming ever more present, these questions feel particularly relevant.
As I step inside, I find myself in a true labyrinth of the senses, where things are rarely what they seem. Using mirrors, manipulated perspectives and distorted spaces, Erlich transports visitors into a world where the laws of physics appear to no longer apply.
My Highlights
Port of Reflections
Six boats gently rock on invisible waves in a darkened room. But wait – is there actually any water there at all? Or are the reflections and the sound of lapping waves merely convincing me that there is? And are there really six boats? This mesmerising installation is being shown in France for the first time.
The Cloud
In the next room, three clouds appear to float inside glass display cases. Only when viewed from the side does the illusion reveal itself: the clouds are created from printed glass panels arranged one behind the other. It forms an intriguing connection with the exhibition at the Bourse de Commerce, where visitors can quite literally disappear into a cloud of mist.
The Models
One section of the exhibition presents no fewer than 41 scale models of Erlich’s installations, accompanied by photographs of their full-sized counterparts. Together, they inspire a strong desire to seek out more of his works and become part of the creative experience yourself.
The Swimming Pool
Sadly, this famous installation was represented only through a model and photographs. Designed as a swimming pool, the work allows visitors to stand beneath a glass surface while a shimmering layer of projected water appears above them. In photographs, it genuinely looks as though people are underwater. I would have loved to experience it for myself!
Incidentally, the small shop near the exhibition galleries sells a scale model of The Swimming Pool for the rather tempting price of just EUR 120…
About the exhibition
Leandro Erlich: The Power of Perspective
And finally, there is Bâtiment, the last installation of the exhibition and, for me, the undisputed highlight.
At first glance, it appears to be nothing more than a house façade lying flat on the floor. Visitors are invited to step onto it, while a gigantic mirror suspended at a 45-degree angle overhead transforms the scene entirely. Reflected in the mirror, the façade suddenly appears upright, creating the illusion that we are scaling the side of a building or desperately clinging to it high above the ground.
The effect is both playful and surreal. It is only through the participation of visitors that the artwork truly comes to life. Without people interacting with it, the illusion remains incomplete; we become an essential part of the work itself.
Originally created in Paris in 2004 for the city’s famous Nuit Blanche festival, Bâtiment now returns to the French capital 22 years later. It remains one of Leandro Erlich’s most iconic and most photographed installations, and it is easy to see why.
My Verdict
Go, take part, and become a co-creator!
If you enjoyed the Museum of Illusions in Paris, you will almost certainly have great fun here. But unlike many interactive exhibitions, Leandro Erlich’s works are not merely entertaining optical illusions. They encourage us to question our assumptions about reality and remind us just how easily our perception can be manipulated.
Whether you are fascinated by contemporary art, enjoy immersive experiences, or simply love taking unusual photographs, this exhibition offers something for everyone.
Yours,
Anne
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2026
With support from Anne Okolowitz.
other
exhibitions to check out
Bourse de Commerce: Cloud
find out more
FLV: Alexander Calder
find out more
Musée d' Orsay: Renoir
find out more
