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Color, light, water, ice; these are just some of the natural elements that Olafur Eliasson skillfully employs for his thoughtful, wide-ranging artworks; works designed to alter perception, raise awareness while creating a sense of wonder. The range of his work is extensive and diverse, including sculpture, installations, paintings, photography and video. Early masterpieces, such as Beauty (1993), have an ephemeral, poetical existence that relies on the viewer for life. Much of his inspiration has come from experiencing nature as a boy in Denmark and more especially, in Iceland, and are at the heart of his motivation for challenging global environmental issues though his art. The weather project (2003) at Tate Modern in London and Ice Watch (Copenhagen, Paris, London) are just two illustrations of Eliasson’s inventive, considered and beautiful works. In 2019 he was appointed UNDP’s Ambassador for climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Color, light, water, ice; these are just some of the natural elements that Olafur Eliasson skillfully employs for his thoughtful, wide-ranging artworks; works designed to alter perception, raise awareness while creating a sense of wonder.
Now based in Berlin and Copenhagen, Eliasson grew up in Denmark and Iceland, but his experiences in Iceland’s rich natural environment are at the heart of his motivation for challenging global environmental issues through his art. “When I first started hearing about global warming, I understood it intuitively, because I had a strong sense of the fragility of nature in the Arctic Circle,” he recalls.
In 1995, he moved to Berlin and founded Studio Olafur Eliasson. The range of his work is extensive and diverse, including sculpture, installations, paintings, photography and video. Early masterpieces, such as Beauty (1993), have an ephemeral, poetical existence that relies on the viewer for life. As Eliasson says, “Ephemeral art is very good at hosting a viewer because there’s little concrete there – just light, air, movement, or something else intangible. So the presence of a viewer becomes even more important. The viewers complete the artwork, co-producing the experience.”
In 2003, he represented Denmark at the Venice Biennale. In the same year, The weather project, presented at Tate Modern, London, was an international success. The project, made by using light to create the illusion of a giant sun in the cavernous space of the building's Turbine Hall, was experienced by more than two million visitors. It was, “a success simply by being very hospitable, people felt somehow seen, listened to and they felt welcome…it wasn’t elitist…it was very emotional.”
He has had solo exhibitions in major museums around the world and has undertaken numerous large-scale projects in public spaces. Ice Watch (2014), with its use of giant ice blocks from Greenland, melting over time, is a major work that raises awareness and calls people to take action over climate change and has been shown in Copenhagen, Paris and London. As a direct and tangible experience of the reality of melting artic ice, it makes its point in a creative and powerful way.
Eliasson’s Berlin studio has a diverse staff of 100 people from a wide range of disciplines, involved in many activities.
Recently, the studio has been re-assessing production processes to find new, environmentally sustainable ways to create and transport artworks. In addition to working on art projects, Eliasson has founded other projects, such as the social business that produces the solar-powered light Little Sun (2012) – an affordable and effective light that yields 5 hours of bright light after 5 hours of charging in the sun.
Eliasson declares, “I strongly believe that art can change society and can demonstrate to people how their individual engagement matters. Each one of us can do something small, and this can definitely make a big difference.” In 2019, he was appointed as UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassador for climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).