A genius in art design: Who is Olafur Eliasson?

Olafur Eliasson, who is shown as one of the most important artists of the century, continues to be on the agenda with his works and productions. Olafur Eliasson, who is mentioned among the important artists who live with light, water, and large installations in his works, made a big impact in the art world with his experiences. Architect and designer Eliasson also built huge waterfalls under New York bridges, using the phenomenon of refraction of light to encourage people to dance their colorful shadows on a wall. A huge false sun also created a feeling of the afternoon that never ends in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern Museum in London...

Olafur Eliasson was born in Copenhagen in 1967. His mother had immigrated to Copenhagen from Iceland in 1966 to find work as a tailor and his father as a cook. Olafur moved to live with his mother and stepfather, a stockbroker after his parents separated when he was 8 years old. He spent the summers and holidays with his father in Iceland. At the age of 15, he opened his first solo exhibition, exhibiting landscape drawings and gouache at a small alternative gallery in Denmark. In addition, Olafur, who is interested in break dance, formed a group called the Harlem Gun Crew with two of his school friends and performed in clubs and dance halls for four years. Olafur Eliasson, who studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1989 to 1995, was awarded a travel budget by the Royal Danish Academy in 1990. Thanks to this scholarship, the artist went to New York and started working as a studio assistant for the artist Christian Eckart here in Williamsburg and entered the world of art.

After graduating from the academy in 1995, the artist started working with Einar Thorsteinn, an architect and geometry expert 25 years older than him. The first piece they created was a stainless steel dome designed to look like it was growing out of the ground. Thorsteinn's knowledge of geometry and space inspired Olafur's artistic production, and traces of Thorsteinn can be seen in Olafur's other projects, as well as in his geometric lampworks generally. Olafur Eliasson, who was also influenced by names such as Bruce Nauman, James Turrell, and Robert Irwin; designed various installations using light, heat, pressure, and water and produced works imitating nature with optical games. The artist, who has realized many major exhibitions and projects around the world since the 1990s, represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 with “The Blind Pavilion”.

On 22 September 2019, Eliasson was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador "for urgent action on climate change and sustainable development goals". In the context of her appointment, Eliasson stressed the need to stay positive and said; “I actually think it's important not to overlook something that is going pretty well. There is always a reason for hope. That is how I believe and I believe in hope.”