Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson (born 1967) is an Icelandic-Danish artist who transforms natural elements into immersive spectacles and striking visual landscape art. His works and installations reflect on our evolving relationship to, and considerable impact on, the natural world. He co-creates with a chosen environment—within the walls of an art space or far beyond them—enhancing the relationship between audience and space, individual and collective experience. In his seminal transformation of the Tate Modern in 2003, The Weather Project uses light and mist to recreate atmosphere in the cavernous Turbine Hall exhibition space. He moves beyond the confines of internal space with his outdoor land art such as Green River, a project carried out in various cities between 1998 and 2001. With these events, he navigates how art is instrumental to defining the larger world—and transforming it through action.
Olafur Eliasson grew up in Iceland and Denmark and studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In 1995, he moved to Berlin and founded Studio Olafur Eliasson, a team composed of many moving parts and members who work to carry out Eliasson’s visions. He has realized these visions across the globe, and has been featured in a number of notable platforms such as the 50th Venice Biennale, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing, as well as numerous projects in public spaces. He currently lives and works in Copenhagen and Berlin.
Related Works
- Olafur Eliasson's work is often tied to the ephemeral works of the Light and Space artists. James Turrell is the most prominent member of this loosely affiliated movement, and like Eliasson, he is a master of shifting perceptions. View his work.
- In the collection of our sister gallery, form & concept, Matthew Mullins alters perspectives on the passage of time through a series of deep blue pinhole photographs. View his work.
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Frieze Editors Debate the Artist of the Decade
Andrew Durbin, En Liang Khong, Pablo Larios, Evan Moffitt, Amy Sherlock, Frieze, December 13, 2019 -
The Most Influential Artists of 2019
Artsy Editorial, Artsy, December 11, 2019 -
Olafur Eliasson named a UN Goodwill Ambassador to advocate for climate action
Artsy, September 23, 2019 -
Netflix’s ‘Abstract: The Art of Design’ Returns to Awe Us With the Inner Workings of Creative Minds
Helen Holmes, Observer, September 21, 2019
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MATCH
Zane Bennett Contemporary | form & concept 26 Jun - 10 Oct 2020Collections collide in this summer display incorporating work from both form & concept and Zane Bennett Contemporary Art. For the first time ever, artworks by the represented artists of form...Read more -
Folio
29 Nov 2019 - 14 Feb 2020Zane Bennett Contemporary announces its annual group exhibition , which features Zane Bennett Gallery staff favorites from the 2019 collection, including Judy Chicago's Birth Tear/Tear and Ghada Amer and Reza...Read more
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Olafur Eliasson at Museo Guggenheim Bilbao
Avenida Abandoibarra, 2, Bilbao, Spain February 14, 2020Olafur Eliasson: In real life brings to our attention some of today’s most urgent issues through around 30 artworks created by the artist between 1990...Read more -
Olafur Eliasson in Netflix's Abstract: The Art of Design
Season 2 September 17, 2019Season 2 of Netflix's docuseries Abstract: The Art of Design focuses on an eclectic group of groundbreaking designers, including Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. The...Read more -
Olafur Eliasson returns to Tate Modern
Bankside, London July 11, 2019Olafur Eliasson has a long relationship with Tate Modern. His glowing sun, The weather project , drew more than two million people to the Turbine...Read more