Olafur Eliasson – Thin Ice

Olafur Eliasson (b. 1967) is one of the most influential artists of our time, known for transforming natural phenomena and physical laws into artistic experiences that make the invisible and ephemeral tangible.

In a darkened exhibition environment, large-scale installations of light, sound, water, mist and reflections envelop you – making your own body and movement part of the art.

At a time marked by climate change, conflict and an increasingly digital everyday life, Eliasson’s work insists on physical experience and explores our interconnectedness with one another and the world we are part of. The exhibition brings together key works alongside newer projects that reflect the artist’s growing engagement with climate, ecology and our relationship with our surroundings. The exhibition also presents an entirely new work, Thin Ice, which gives the exhibition its title.

The exhibition marks the beginning of Olafur Eliasson × ARoS – Shared Futures – a new long-term collaboration between ARoS and Studio Olafur Eliasson, building on a relationship that spans more than two decades. Since Eliasson’s first exhibition at ARoS in 2004 and the opening of Your rainbow panorama in 2011, the artist has maintained a close relationship with the museum, which today holds Europe’s largest collection of his installation works.

As part of Shared Futures, ARoS will acquire Eliasson’s monumental work Presence (2025), which will become a major new work in the museum’s collection. The project also includes a publicly accessible reading library and study area, as well as research, and public engagement activities inviting audiences to explore Eliasson’s art and the questions it raises.

Eliasson’s work will also extend beyond the museum. On ARoS Art Square, Waterfall will rise in a new site-specific version. The monumental waterfall will be freely accessible to everyone, creating a new sensory meeting place where art, nature and the city come together.

The exhibition is curated by Jannie Haagemann.

Olafur Eliasson × ARoS – Shared Futures is realised with generous support from The Salling Foundations.

Credits: Olafur Eliasson. Your living kaleidorama, 2022. Projection screen, mirror foil, wood, fabric, water, LED lamp, wooden basin, tripod, plastic sheeting, stainless steel, glass mirror, colour-effect filter glass (various colours), motor, electrical ballast, control unit. Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Orizzonti tremanti, Castello di Rivoli – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Italy, 2022 Photo: Agostino Osio Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York © 2022 Olafur Eliasson