Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson
Olafur in 2015
Born
Ólafur Elíasson

5 February 1967 (1967-02-05) (age 57)
Copenhagen, Denmark
NationalityDanish–Icelandic
Known forInstallation art
This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Olafur.

Olafur Eliasson (Icelandic: Ólafur Elíasson; born 5 February 1967)[1] is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scaled installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's experience.

In 1995, Olafur established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research. In 2014, Olafur and his long-time collaborator – German architect Sebastian Behmann – founded Studio Other Spaces, an office for architecture and art.

Olafur represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 and later that year installed The Weather Project, which has been described as "a milestone in contemporary art",[2] in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London.

Olafur has engaged in a number of public projects, including the intervention Green river, carried out in various cities between 1998 and 2001; the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2007, London, a temporary pavilion designed with the Norwegian architect Kjetil Trædal Thorsen; and The New York City Waterfalls, commissioned by Public Art Fund in 2008. Olafur also created the Breakthrough Prize trophy. Like much of his work, the sculpture explores the common ground between art and science. It is molded into the shape of a toroid, recalling natural forms found from black holes and galaxies to seashells and coils of DNA.[3]

Olafur was a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts from 2009 to 2014 and has been an adjunct professor at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in Addis Ababa since 2014. His studio is based in Berlin, Germany.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Olafur Eliasson Biography". Who's Who (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  2. ^ Wojcik, Nadine (2019-07-11). "Olafur Eliasson: When nature becomes art | DW | 11.07.2019". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  3. ^ "Breakthrough Prize: Trophy". Breakthrough Prize. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  4. ^ Cooke, Rachel (2019-08-19). "Olafur Eliasson: 'I brought a frozen chicken into art school'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).