Olafur Eliasson at the Palace of Versailles

Waterfall, 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

Deep Mirror (yellow), 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

Deep Mirror (yellow).

Deep Mirror (black), 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

Deep Mirror (yellow) & Deep Mirror (black), 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

Internationally acclaimed Danish-Icelandic visual artist Olafur Eliasson is best known for sculptures and large-scale installation art that employ elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to heighten the viewer’s experience. Eliasson’s work investigates perception, movement, embodied experience, and feelings of self.

In 1995, Eliasson established his eponymous studio in Berlin as a laboratory for spatial research. He represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 and later that year installed The Weather Project in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London, which was seen by more than two million people. In 2008, his New York City Waterfalls saw four large-scale artificial waterfalls installed on the shorelines of Manhattan and Brooklyn. So you know, he is kind of a big deal, so when Eliasson does something – we pay attention.

Related Post: Olafur Eliasson’s Office & Studio in Berlin.

Glacial Rock Flour Garden, 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

Fog Assembly, 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

Your Sense of Unity, 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

The artists latest major exhibition is taking place in the Palace of Versailles, France from June 7th to October 30th 2016. His site specific series of works are designed to change our perception of Versailles – sharpening our senses, and accentuating the features of the space. Metaphors of water, diffraction of light, confusion of mirrors, intensified emotions, moving shadows are just some of the ideas present in the work. Eliasson wants the visitors to “take possession of Versailles” in an exhibition that represents an augmented reality which “imposes itself as an engine room of the imagination.”

The exhibition comprises a series of subtle spatial interventions inside the palace deploying mirrors and light. In the gardens, the artist uses fog and water to amplify the feelings of impermanence and transformation. The artworks liquefy the formal design of the gardens while reviving one of landscape architect André Le Nôtre’s original, unrealised visions: the placement of a waterfall along the axis of the Grand Canal. This waterfall reinvigorates the engineering ingenuity of the past. It is as constructed as the court was, and Eliasson has left the construction open for all to see – a seemingly foreign element that expands the scope of human imagination.

The Curious Museum, 2010. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

The Gaze of Versailles, 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

In his previous work, Eliasson has transported fragments of nature – volcanic earth or a riverbed, for example – into museums. He has used technology to recreate natural phenomena, like a waterfall. He challenges our vision of the world through his installations, which make use of projected light, kaleidoscopic views, mirrors and complex geometric structures. As the artist himself writes, “Art has the capacity to transform our perceptions and perspectives of the world”.

Versailles is simultaneously a historical site with tremendous patrimonial value and a microcosm where people of diverse origins and cultures briefly cross paths. A museum and public space, the venue is of particular interest to an artist like Eliasson, whose installations seeking out both natural spaces and those forged by cultural history. At Versailles these two elements are intermingled, with the concept of a garden based on a geometric design and lines of perspective; and the powerful architecture that pays testament to the glory of the monarchs who brought this château into being.

Solar Compression, 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.

Since 2008 the Palace of Versailles has put on a number of exhibitions dedicated to French or foreign artists, each one lasting a few months. These have included Jeff Koons in 2008, Xavier Veilhan in 2009, Takashi Murakami in 2010, Bernar Venet in 2011, Joana Vasconcelos in 2012, Giuseppe Penone in 2013, Lee Ufan in 2014 and Anish Kapoor in 2015. These artists have all created a special dialogue between their works and the Palace and Gardens of Versailles. Since 2013, Alfred Pacquement, has been is the curator of these exhibitions.

Olafur Eliasson at the Palace of Versailles runs from June 7th to October 30th 2016. More info here.

Portrait of Olafur Eliasson, 2016. Photo by Anders Sune Berg.