A brush with... Olafur Eliasson

"Olafur Eliasson was born in 1967 in Copenhagen and grew up between Denmark and Iceland, where his parents were from. His installations, sculptures, photographs and paintings, among other projects, reflect a profound concern with human presence in nature and how we perceive and interact with the world around us. His works can be deceptively simple or enormously complex, but often share a rigorous and reductive geometry, which may conversely produce expansive and multifarious perceptual, sensory and embodied effects."

"Eliasson has stated that "the spectator is the central issue", a long-established aspect of conceptual and environmental practices, but for him it is important that the viewer not only completes the work, but is also transformed by it. This subjective and individual revelation is, he hopes, allied to a sense of collective experience, what he calls a "we-ness", that often alerts his audience to wider cultural and social issues including the climate catastrophe."

"Indeed, environment, in multiple senses, is the fundamental element of his work. He discusses his deep concern about the climate catastrophe and the importance of action. He reflects on his concept of "seeing yourself sensing" and its shifting nature in relation to different works across his career, and how he often includes the word "your" in his titles as a gesture of trust towards his audience."

Born in 1967 in Copenhagen and raised between Denmark and Iceland, Olafur Eliasson works across installations, sculpture, photography and painting. His practice emphasizes human presence in nature and explores perception, interaction, and embodied sensing. Many works employ rigorous, reductive geometry to generate expansive, multifarious perceptual and sensory effects. Eliasson centers the spectator, seeking transformations that are both individual and collective, fostering a sense of "we-ness" that connects aesthetic experience to cultural and social issues, notably the climate catastrophe. Environment functions as a fundamental element in multiple senses. Concepts such as "seeing yourself sensing" and the inclusion of "your" in titles underline trust and engagement with audiences.

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