Making climate change and global warming his main topic and a good understanding of how we function.
Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's experience.
Born in 1967, Eliasson grew up in Iceland and Denmark, where he studied from 1989 to 1995 at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In 1995, he moved to Berlin and founded Studio Olafur Eliasson, which today comprises a large team of craftsmen, architects, archivists, researchers, administrators, cooks, programmers, art historians, and specialized technicians.
He spent a lot of his childhood in Iceland. Iceland's wild landscapes had a powerful impact on the artist – its hot pools, lava fields, volcanoes, waterfalls, caves, and most banks.
“I am interested in the way the weather colors our emotions, experiences, and thoughts, and I try to take it into consideration alongside the many other things that determine our perception of art. I am also fascinated by weather unpredictability.” Olafur Eliasson
Eliasson's early interest in natural phenomena and perception led him to create works that simultaneously sparked and challenged the senses.
"Having an experience is taking part in the world. Taking part in the world is really about sharing responsibility." Olafur Eliasson
Making climate change and global warming his main topic, the Icelandic–Danish artist employs natural elements in his works — and a good understanding of how we function.
"I don't know a single collector or museum director who says: 'Oh, he's on a list, so I think I'll buy something of his.' The people who buy my art put a little more thought into it than that." Olafur Eliasson
In the course of his over thirty-year-long-running artistic career, Olafur Eliasson came to develop what could be defined as environmental critical thinking. Known globally for shaping his vision around the pure imperfections of nature, he focuses, artistically speaking, on every small and big change in the environment surrounding us.
mutualart.com
At the same time, the artist’s oeuvre is appealingly relevant to modern needs. His art seems to be strategically answering our current desire to share artworks with our social media audience.
