Ólafur Elíasson

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Ólafur Elíasson (born 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is an Icelandic artist, famous in the UK for his exhibition The Weather Project at the Tate Modern, London, in 2003. That same year, he also represented Denmark at the Venice Biennale.

From 1989 until 1995 he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. His work is represented in many private and public collections, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. He currently lives and works in the German capital, Berlin.

It was recently announced that he will be involved in a project with luxury goods company Louis Vuitton. According to LV website: "A new project by the internationally renowned artist Olafur Eliasson, Eye See You, will be presented at Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue, the company's New York flagship, on Thursday 9th November 2006.

Commissioned by Louis Vuitton, Eye See You will form the centerpiece of the Christmas windows in all Louis Vuitton stores, of which there are more than 350 worldwide. In addition, a new work by the artist, entitled You See Me, will go on permanent display at Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue.

All fees from the project will be donated to 121Ethiopia.org, a charitable foundation recently established by Olafur Eliasson and his wife."

[edit] Exhibitions

The Weather Project at Tate Modern, London, 2003.

Refer to: List of exhibitions by Ólafur Elíasson

Exhibited in group shows since 1991, with solo exhibits from 1994 to the present.

[edit] Your Black Horizon

1 August – 31 October 2006 on the island of San Lazzaro in the lagoon near Venice, Italy. A light installation commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary in collaboration with British architect David Adjaye. A temporary pavilion was constructed on the grounds of the monastery to house the exhibit, consisting of a square room painted black with one source of illumination - a thin, continuous line of light set into all four walls of the room at the viewers eye-level, serving as a horizontal division between above and below.

[edit] The Weather Project

The Weather Project was installed at the Tate Modern in 2003 as part of the popular Unilever series. The installation filled the open space of the gallery's Turbine Hall with representations of the Sun and the sky.

Elíasson used humidifiers to create a fine mist in the air via a mixture of sugar and water, as well as a semi-circular disc made up of hundreds of mono-frequency lamps which emitted pure yellow light. The ceiling of the hall was covered with a huge mirror, in which visitors could see themselves as tiny black shadows against a mass of orange light. Many visitors responded to this exhibition by lying on their backs and waving their hands.