Olafur Eliasson

As artist and cook, Ólafur Eliasson takes after his father

Ólafur Elíasson was born in Copenhagen on 5 February 1967 and spent his childhood primarily on the island in the city of Hafnarfjörður. His father also worked as an artist, but also as a cook on a fishing steamer to earn money. Although Elíasson and his sister Victoria Elíasdóttir grew up in modest circumstances, they learnt early on to appreciate the value and the preparation of good food. Ólafur studied from 1989 to 1995 at the Royal Danish Art Academy in Copenhagen, but the theme of gastronomy occupied the artist: In his Berlin studio, he opened a canteen for his more than 100 employees, offering mainly vegetarian dishes, with the intention of bringing the growing crowd of employees into conversation with each other and fostering greater affinity and trust. The resulting great reception moved the artist and his sister to open a restaurant for three months in the summer of 2018 in their homeland of Iceland. 

Spectacular art installations which include the audience

Ólafur Elíasson formed his first contacts with Germany during his studies when he became acquainted with the Berlin gallerists Burkhard Riemschneider and Tim Neuger during a stay in Cologne. His exhibitions with them were so successful that he soon moved his studio to Berlin. His sometimes spectacular art auctions soon took Elíasson all over the world: For his 1998-2001 project Green River, he coloured various rivers around the world with a non-poisonous colouring without informing the public of his action. The very differing reactions of the involuntary and surprised audience represented an important part of the artwork for Elíasson. The artist did not shy away from large dimensions anyway: for his four artificial waterfalls in Manhattan, he used over 13 billion litres of water over 110 days. 

An artist with social and ecological awareness

Ólafur Elíasson also works as a designer. His project Little Sun, involving a LED light designed by himself, also has a deep meaning behind it: it is intended to shine its light above all where people have previously had to do without electric light. The largely plastic light fitting received an environmentally friendly update in 2017 which reduced the plastic content from 70 grams to 20 grams. It is powered by solar energy – one day’s charge enables it to shine for five to ten hours, depending on the selected brightness. Ólafur Elíasson has won prizes and honours for his art in numerous countries, including Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Spain. The environment is a theme which is close to the artist’s heart: At the EXPO 1: New York exhibition in 2013, he presented a piece of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier of his home of Iceland, to draw attention to global warming. 

Olafur Elíasson has been a member of the Akademie der Künstler in Berlin since 2012 where he primarily lives and works.