Artist Entry: Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson is an artist from Copenhagen, Denmark whose work is primarily sculptural. However, it seems that each year there is one type of project he installs - and that project is what caught my attention. The pieces are a series of various natural geological/ecological structures/occurrences. Perhaps it is just my geology class that is turning me into an even bigger environmental nerd but regardless, its fascinating to see how these places in nature exist in a similar fashion, yet are so different and individual.

His presentation is something to be admired (and to take into consideration as to how I decide to present my piece). Viewing his work has certainly put some fire under my bum to dive back into my work (after my brief hiatus).

Another thing I admire about all his work is its dependance and existence based off of its contained environment, which becomes fairly evident upon looking at his work. In 1996, he installed a series of images depicting waterfalls. Then, in 2008 he installed waterfalls in New York City locations. Not only do the who pieces reflect on each other in subject matter but also their purpose. They bring the natural into a space where its often forgotten and certainly not seen. Its a reminder of what else is there and its power.

I could go on and speak about each one of his pieces, discussing why they are so important and profound but I won't. I think I've found (one of) my new favorite artists! Below I have included the various series that I discussed above, as well as a few installation pieces.

All images are (c) to Olafur Eliasson & were found via Google Image search.