The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney is presenting
the first large-scale exhibition of works by Danish-
Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson in Australia. The exhibition,
entitled Take your time: Olafur Eliasson, runs at
the MCA Sydney exclusively in Australia till 11 April
2010.
Olafur Eliasson is among the most influential and widely
acclaimed artists of his generation. From light-filled
environments to walk-in kaleidoscopes, Olafur Eliasson’s
unique participatory works offer alluring spaces that
harness optical cognition and meteorological elements,
examine the intersection of nature and science, and
explore the boundary between the organic and the
artificial.
Having been raised partly in Iceland, Eliasson’s practice is
informed by that country’s landscape and spectacular
weather. He recontextualises elements such as light,
water, ice, fog, arctic moss, and lava rock to create
altogether new circumstances that shift the viewer’s
consciousness and sense of place. By extension, his work
prompts an intensive engagement with the world and a
fresh consideration of everyday life.
Take your time: Olafur Eliasson gathers works
from major public and private collections worldwide and
spans Eliasson’s diverse range of artistic production from
1993 to the present, including installations, large-scale
environments, sculpture, and photography.
The exhibition has been organised by the San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and curated by
Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director, Museum of
Contemporary Art, Chicago (and SFMOMA’s former Elise S.
Haas Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture), in close
collaboration with the artist.
MCA Director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor says: “Eliasson is
emerging as a singularly influential artist on the world
stage and we are proud to be able to present this major
exhibition of his work to Australian audiences. We are
delighted to have been able to work with one of the world’s
most prestigious arts institutions SFMOMA, to make this
extraordinary exhibition happen and we expect it to be
hugely popular both with existing and new audiences for
the Museum. As we are the only Australian venue
presenting this show, we hope to attract visitors from
interstate and overseas.”
Images, from top:
Olafur Eliasson, 360° room for all colours, 2002
stainless steel, projection foil, fluorescent lights, wood,
control unit, installation view at Musée d’Art moderne de la
Ville de Paris, Paris, 2002 (Private collection. Image
courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
© the artist); Olafur Eliasson, One-way colour
tunnel, 2007, stainless steel, colour-effect acrylic, and
acrylic mirrors (Collection of the Art Supporting Foundation
to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, © 2007 Olafur
Eliasson; Photo: Ian Reeves Photography, Courtesy of the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art).
Olafur Eliasson solo exhibition at MCA, Sidney
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- Loredana Mascheroni
- 08 March 2010