Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is one of the most prominent contemporary artists working today. He is known for his installations that toy with elemental materials like light, water and air. Moving across sculpture, painting, architecture photography, film, and installations, Eliasson's work stands out for its vauntingly ambitious scale. This May, you can hear him discuss his work with Tim Marlow, head of the RA, over at the Royal Institution.
One of the most remarkable things about Eliasson is the way that such startlingly contemporary art can be quite so Romantic. We have to think back to his installation The Weather Project (2003) of a dazzling artificial sun in a mist-filled Turbine Hall at Tate Modern to really put two and two together. Harnessing the ephemeral light of the natural world Eliasson spoke of the impact of the city upon weather as well as the same spiritual and emotional attachment to nature that we find in Romanticism.
Other notable projects have included his blind pavilion for the 50th Venice Biennale, his monumental Riverbed (2014) installed at Copenhagen’s Louisiana Museum of Art and his 2007 'spinning top' Serpentine Pavilion.
| What | Olafur Eliasson in Conversation with Tim Marlow, RA |
| Where | Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4BS | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Green Park (underground) |
| When |
On 04 May 16, Wednesday 4 May 2016 6.30 — 7.30pm |
| Price | £16. Reductions £8. |
| Website | Click here to book |
