Leo Elia (born 1998, Berlin) is a German artist specializing in sculpture and installation, exploring obsolescence, memory, and promise, with a focus on the legacy of East Germany, education, and the entertainment industry. As a child, he learned marketing basics from his father, a former advertising professional, while watching Super Bowl ads. Meeting Yoko Ono as a teenager inspired him to become an artist.• Education
Hochschule für bildende Künste, Hamburg (2025) and Bard College, New York (2024)• Contact
leo_elia.studio@icloud.com• Recent solo and duo exhibitions include
2023
Sell The Farm, SARA’S (with Rachel Rosheger), New York City
2022
The Standard Settings, CULTERIM GALLERY, Berlin
2020
Change of Pace, KUNSTHALLE AM HAMBURGER PLATZ, Berlin• Recent group exhibitions include
2024
Checkpoints, KUPFER GALLERY, London
The Leisure Class, DEICHTORHALLEN - School Of Survival, Hamburg
Sport, GRUPPE MOTTO, Hamburg
The Eco-Theatrical Shape-Shifter, PALAZZO SAN GIUSEPPE, Polignano a Mare
A&DT CHONNAI UNIVERSITY, Gwangju
2023
ByoUsb, LOCKER ROOM GALLERY (curated by Rhizome), New York City
Imagining Health, ICAT, Hamburg
On AI, LOBE BLOCK, Berlin
2022
RL16, Berlin• Curatorial projects include
2024
_The Leisure Class (with Estefania Morales), DEICHTORHALLEN - School Of Survival, Hamburg• Past publications include
Kunstforum International and D.N.R.• Past writing include
D.N.R. (with Jae August) and von hundert Magazin (with Jae August)• Selected works

Semper Augustus Forever Tulip, 2024
as shown at Deichtorhallen Hamburg
wood, glass, mirror, pills, wire, print

Trade Secret Live Drop, 2024
as shown at Kupfer Gallery London
part of the project Museum Of Promise, Aspirations and Technologies
1m x 1,13m x 75cm
presswood, plexiglas, incubator, Club Cola bottles, document written with milk, print, blue foam

Charging Mammoth, 2023
as shown at SARA'S New York
part of the project The Living Diamonds Of Yakutia
2,5m x 2m x 2m
cardboard, shipping crates, stanchions, spray paint

Whole Earth Plaques: Tips for Outrunning a Bull, 2023
Print on thermoformed polystyrol

Whole Earth Plaques: House, 2023
Print on thermoformed polystyrol

Pleistocene Park Patreon Tier Badge Display, 2023
80cm x 120cm x 143cm
part of the project The Living Diamonds Of Yakutia
metal pipes, furniture wheels, euro pallets, print on synthetic banners, stickers, cardboard, acrylic artifact stands, plexiglas

Gazprom Biogas Plant Model Display, 2023
as shown at HFBK Hamburg
part of the project The Living Diamonds Of Yakutia
2m x 1,6m x 1,5m
wooden frame, plexiglass, cable ties, print on camping table, stickers, walnut wood plates, model of a biogas plant made from ethically sourced tusk ivory

Gazprom Biogas Plant Model Display Wall Unit, 2023
as shown at PALAZZO SAN GUISEPPE
part of the project The Living Diamonds Of Yakutia
wooden frame, plexiglass, cable ties, print on camping table, stickers, walnut wood plates, model of a biogas plant made from ethically sourced tusk ivory

Map of Colossal Pleistocene Park Yamal, 2023
200cm x 50cm x 100cm
part of the project The Living Diamonds Of Yakutia
print on metal sheets, hinges, padlocks