Sasha Engelmann
Here, there is no white cube, no carefully spaced series of rectangles on the wall. There are no points of focus signified by elaborate bronze frames. I do not feel compelled to pay attention to detail, read captions and important dates or walk in a prescribed path. In fact, all that is required of me is to absorb, feel, and interact where I am tempted. Once inside Olafur Eliasson’s installation, I am entirely seduced into a realm of pure perception.
The Icelandic light and space artist Olafur Eliasson has become, through his work and philosophy, a post-modern sensation. His installations are at once marvels of natural material and unnerving reflective environments, where viewers are given leading roles in the art’s construction and are offered new lenses through which to perceive natural elements such as water, light, and organic matter. Eliasson effectively decouples natural forces from their traditional molds. His work is startling for this reason, and its value is found not only in the initial reactions of the audience to the installation but also in the way it sensitizes individuals to the infinite number of perceptual shifts possible in their interaction with familiar elements in daily life. Eliasson’s work is seductive, spectacular, and therefore memorable; evidence of his rise in popularity was seen when thousands flocked to the Tate Modern to experience his grand installation, The Weather Project. More than any other contemporary light and space artist, Eliasson has attained a position of great influence on the international stage...
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