Ólafur Eliasson – Colour memory and other informal shadows

Nature is present in the ephemeral fragments; immaterial factors such as temperature, smell, taste, air and magnetic waves become his sculptural means. Eliasson is fundamentally concerned with creating art that asks questions about our human perception of reality; his works draw associations to land art and architecture, the romanticism of nature and natural science.

The exhibition in the Astrup Fearnley Museum will focus upon Eliasson’s light-installations. A constantly recurring theme for him is how the eye perceives colour, and how the participating subject reacts emotionally to colour. In Room For One Colour (1998), the participant finds herself in a room filled with a yellow light that affects the perception of all other colours. Another installation, 360 degrees Room For All Colours (2002), is a round light-sculpture where participants loose their sense of space and perspective, and experience being subsumed by an intense light. Olafur Eliasson has become a significant international artist; in 2003 he represents Denmark at the Venice Biennale.