Olafur Eliasson
Wolf Prize Laureate in the Arts 2014
Olafur Eliasson
Award citation:
“for uniting art and science to trigger moments of individual and collective revelation”.
Prize share:
None
Olafur Eliasson is an artist who with his spectacular and ground-breaking installations manages something as rare as appealing to both a narrow world of art professionals and to a broader public of art lovers.
Based on a profound interest in architecture, science and natural phenomena, his works focus on exploring human perception. With his intricate installations, Eliassen manages to create a special sense of connection between the viewer and the work of art, investigating how perception is not universal, but shaped by time, space, and culture.
Faced with Olafur Eliasson’s works, the spectator experiences an enhanced awareness of his own presence, as he is not only seeing and perceiving, but is also seeing and being perceived – most notably this was the case with Eliasson’s “Weather Project” in the Tate Modern in 2004 which not only became one of the biggest successes for Tate Modern to date, but also managed to create a mesmerizing total installation of work and audience.
Eliassen has set a great example as an artist transgressing national borders and cultural differences. Olafur Eliasson has shown how art can become relevant and engaging not only for the select few but for a wide audience around the globe without seeking any form of artistic compromise.