Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson

From light-filled environments to walk-in kaleidoscopes, his unique participatory works offer alluring spaces that harness optical cognition and meteorological elements, examine the intersection of nature and science, and explore the boundary between the organic and the artificial. Having been raised partly in Iceland, Eliasson’s practice is informed by that country’s primordial landscape and spectacular weather. He recontextualises elements such as light, water, ice, fog, arctic moss, and lava rock to create altogether new circumstances that shift the viewer’s consciousness and sense of place. By extension, his work prompts an intensive engagement with the world outside and a fresh consideration of everyday life.

The exhibition gathers works from major public and private collections worldwide and spans Eliasson’s diverse range of artistic production from 1993 to the present, including installations, largescale immersive environments, freestanding sculpture, and photography. Take your time: Olafur Eliasson has been organised by the San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago in close collaboration with the artist. The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive catalogue which thoroughly explores Eliasson’s practice and its critical context.

Take your time: Olafur Eliasson is organised by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Lead support was provided by Helen and Charles Schwab and the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund. Generous support was provided by the Bernard Osher Foundation, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, and SFMOMA ’s Collectors Forum. Additional support was provided by Patricia and William Wilson III , the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.