Olafur Eliasson

Art21 proudly presents an artist segment, featuring Olafur Eliasson, from the “Berlin” episode in the ninth season of the “Art in the Twenty-First Century” series. “Berlin” premiered in September 2018 on PBS. Watch now on PBS and the PBS Video app: https://www.pbs.org/video/berlin-vjqxnw/ With the support of his interdisciplinary studio, Olafur Eliasson produces epic, technically sophisticated sculptures and installations, using natural elements like light, water, and air to alter viewers’ sensory perceptions. From 120 foot tall waterfalls floating above New York’s East River to chunks of arctic ice installed in a Parisian plaza, his immersive environments, public installations, and architectural projects are motivated by the belief that art has the power to make viewers think differently about the world. Expanding the role of the artist, Eliasson contemplates how art can function as a “civic muscle,” offering solutions to global problems like climate change and renewable energy. Olafur Eliasson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1967. Predicated on the idea that “art does not end where the real world begins,” Eliasson’s work lives in the active exchange between his creations and the viewers.