His works are in dialogue with ecology, architecture and urban spaces, but also with philosophy and science. The show present Eliasson’s unusually expansive artistic output, letting his installations fill both museum buildings.
Curator: Matilda Olof-Ors

On 3 October, 2015, Moderna Museet and ArkDes, the Center of Architecture and Design open their extensive exhibition on Olafur Eliasson, one of the most influential contemporary artists today. Although Eliasson’s work has been exhibited all over the world, this is the first time his oeuvre has been featured in a major museum presentation in Stockholm. Eliasson explores the spaces in which we dwell, with works ranging from unassuming sculptures to larger architectonic structures. Olafur Eliasson’s works are in dialogue with ecology, architecture and urban spaces, but also with philosophy and science. Thus, it is only natural for the neighbouring institutions Moderna Museet and ArkDes to present Eliasson’s unusually expansive artistic output, letting his installations fill both museum buildings.

“I strongly believe that it isn’t necessary to polarise the fields of art and architecture. Rather, it’s about trying to transgress the traditional boundaries to create a space of inclusion and hospitality, where differences of opinion are not only tolerated but encouraged. When you enter my exhibition, you do not step out of the city of Stockholm and into the protected world of art, but continue the processes of negotiation and co-production that characterise our shared reality.”
Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson (born 1967, Iceland/Denmark) is based in Copenhagen and Berlin, where Studio Olafur Eliasson employs some 90 staff members. Eliasson’s practice encompasses sculpture, painting, photography, film, installations, architectural projects and site-specific works in public spaces.
The exhibition Olafur Eliasson: Verklighetsmaskiner/Reality machines spans his entire career so far, from the early 1990s to today. Perception is central to the art of Olafur Eliasson. The works draw our attention not only to what we see, but to how we see, or, in the artist’s own words: “seeing yourself seeing”.

“Olafur Eliasson shifts our focus from the art object itself to the actual experience of seeing. His installations are optical instruments that make us see the world around us in different ways. The works become machines that produce new realities,” says Matilda Olof-Ors, exhibition curator.Continue Reading..