The work of internationally acclaimed visual artist Olafur Eliasson (IS/DK, 1967) investigates perception, movement, embodied experience, and feelings of self. He is best known for striking installations such as the hugely popular The weather project (2003) in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London, which was seen by more than two million people, and The New York City Waterfalls (2008), four large-scale artificial waterfalls which were installed on the shorelines of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
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. 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 is the curator of these exhibitions.
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. 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 is the curator of these exhibitions.
“With Olafur Eliasson, stars collide, the horizon slips away, and our perception blurs. The man who plays with light will make the contours of the Sun-King’s palace dance” says Catherine Pegard, President of the Château de Versailles.
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson approaches the Palace of Versailles and its gardens as if they were a field for visual and sensory experiences. He doesn’t install objects, but rather devises apparatuses that engage the visitor in an active relationship. All of the pieces exhibited here were conceived for the particular space in which they are now positioned. They can be subdivided into two groups.
The outdoor installations form a triptych on the theme of water, whose presence dominates, as we know, classical gardens of this type. The waterfall erected in the Grand Canal is positioned on the central axis of the garden, whilst the two bosquets or groves (l’Etoile [the Star] and la Colonnade) reaffirm their role as open air salons, with one housing a circular veil of fine fog, the other a carpet of glacial residue coming straight from Greenland. These three pieces thus share a common theme, tracing a continuous link and engaging the senses.
Inside the château it is the gaze that becomes the centre of attention, through a set of successive mirrors and mises en abyme. The furnishings of the rooms have not changed, but are amplified through this multiplication of points of view. Visitors are surprised to discover their own reflections in unexpected situations; the spaces expand, are transformed, and reveal their mystery. The artist glories in the fluidity of the baroque surroundings, which allow him to construct another reality. Displacements and destabilisation modify our perception of the rooms, inviting visitors to become active participants in the reality that surrounds them.
“I am thrilled to be working with an iconic site like Versailles. As the palace and its gardens are so rich in history and meaning, in politics, dreams, and visions, it is an exciting challenge to create an artistic intervention that shifts visitors’ feeling of the place and offers a contemporary perspective on its strong tradition. I consider art to be a co-producer of reality, of our sense of now, society, and global togetherness. It is truly inspiring to have the opportunity to co-produce through art today’s perception of Versailles” explains Olifur Eliasson.
