Highlight

  • Left｜A harmonious cycle of interconnected nows (detail)
    2023
    Recycled Zinc alloy, steel cable
    326 x 350 x 330 cm、332 x 320 x 328 cm、275 x 254 x 332 cm、303 x 281 x 324 cm (each, set of 4)
    Installation view: Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower Office Lobby,2023
    Photo: Kioku Keizo
  • Right｜Your split second house
    2010
    Water, hoses, pump, strobe light
    Dimensions variable
    Installation view: 12th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia,
    2010
    Photo: Christian Uchtmann

1Your split second house – a large installation using water

Your split second house (2010), which uses strobe lights to illuminate the moving trajectories of water droplets as they fall through a dark space with a ceiling height of 5 meters and a length of over 20 meters, is the recreation of a work originally exhibited in 2010 for this exhibition. This abstract act of drawing with water and light elicits an understanding of the beauty inherent in Eliasson’s long-standing interest in geometry.

  • Left｜The air we breathe (conceptual drawing)｜2023
  • Right｜The endless study
    2005
    Wood, rubber, metal, mirror, paper, pen, stamp
    235 x 130 x 130 cm
    Installation view: Lunds Konsthall, Sweden, 2005
    Photo: Terje Östling

2Fifteen works of art on display for the first time in Japan, including the new The air we breathe, on display for the first time in Japan

Created especially for the exhibition, titled The air we breathe (2023), utilizes the same modules and recycled material as the artwork in the Mori JP Tower. These two artworks are the first created by Olafur Eliasson specifically from recycled materials, marking an important milestone in the Studio’s ongoing sustainability efforts.
Other works on display for the first time in Japan include a selection of the artist’s works that deal with drawing in an expanded sense, including a series of drawings created in the desert of Qatar using natural energy such as sunlight and wind and The endless study (2005), a drawing machine that operates solely on pendulum power which will generate drawings throughout the course of the exhibition.

3First collaboration with Studio Olafur Eliasson Kitchen in Japan

On the occasion of the exhibition, Azabudai Hills Gallery Cafe is collaborating with Studio Olafur Eliasson Kitchen to create a special menu using local ingredients from the Tokyo area. A chef visited Eliasson’s studio in Berlin to work alongside the SOE Kitchen team and co-create an original menu for this exhibition. Visitors will be able to experience the studio‘s family-style cooking with a range of innvoative dishes. The SOE Kitchen’s environmentally-focused methodology is also a testiment to their dedication to the environment.

Lunch at Studio Olafur Eliasson Kitchen, 2017
Photo: María del Pilar García Ayensa

Artist Profile

Photo: Lars Borges

Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson Born in 1967, raised in Denmark and Iceland, Olafur Eliasson is now based in Berlin and Copenhagen. He founded Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin in 1995, which has developed into a diverse group of professionals, including craftspeople, architects, archivists, researchers, art historians, chefs and programmers. In 2014, Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmann founded Studio Other Space to explore art and architecture. Eliasson has had solo exhibitions in major museums around the world, including in Kanazawa and Tokyo, Japan. He frequently participates in major international exhibitions and remains a leader of the contemporary art world’s efforts to raise awareness of climate change. In 2019, Eliasson was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Programme. He was awarded the 34th Praemium Imperiale (Sculpture) in 2023.