by Redazione 11/11/2026
Categories: Contemporary art / Disclaimer
In Denmark, a museum has commissioned Olafur Eliasson to undertake a project that goes far beyond a mere exhibition: ARoS in Aarhus has announced a major acquisition, a long-term collaboration with the artist, and even a library dedicated to his body of work and a research position.
In Denmark, a museum has commissioned Olafur Eliasson for a project that goes far beyond a mere exhibition:ARoS in Aarhus has announced a long-term collaboration with the artist, but it’s not just about acquiring one of his large-scale light installations: the project includes a solo exhibition, a new version of the famous “Waterfall” installation, and even a public library dedicated to his body of work and a postdoctoral research position.
We might as well start with the work that will be added to the collection. In the center of the room stands an enormous yellow sphere that appears to be suspended in mid-air. As you walk around it, its surface ripples and shifts, as if constantly bubbling. The light it emits fills the space and narrows the perception of colors to just three ranges: shades of yellow, black, and gray. That movement comes from the Sun—or rather, from ultra-high-resolution images of its convective cells, the bubbles of matter that agitate its surface, captured in 2020 by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. This work by Eliasson is titled *Presence* and will be added to the ARoS collection.
The sphere does not exist as a solid object: it is an illusion. Eliasson creates it by combining mirrors, single-frequency light, and moiré patterns—optical phenomena that arise from the superimposition of regular patterns and appear to move when the viewpoint changes. Thus, the movement of the surface depends on the viewer: without a moving observer, the sphere’s “skin” would have nothing to reveal. This principle runs through much of the work of the Icelandic-Danish artist, who was born in Copenhagen in 1967 and is now based in Copenhagen and Berlin. For him, the artwork takes shape in the relationship between the phenomenon and the body of the person experiencing it.
A Broader Project
With *Presence*, the Danish museum, in its own words, secures a new “presence” destined to define the collection. The acquisition, however, is only part of a broader project. ARoS and Studio Olafur Eliasson have in fact launched a long-term partnership, Olafur Eliasson × ARoS – Shared Futures, which took five years to prepare. The stated goal is to find new ways to experience, explore, and engage with Eliasson’s art and the questions it raises. The program encompasses exhibitions, the collection, academic research, and public spaces.
The first event is scheduled for fall 2027, when ARoS will dedicate a major solo exhibition to the artist titled *Thin Ice*. The exhibition will bring together key works from recent decades and new projects, documenting Eliasson’s growing interest in climate, ecology, and the way humanity relates to its surroundings. The exhibition will take place in a space immersed in darkness, where large-scale installations made of light, sound, water, fog, and reflections transform visitors’ bodies and movements into an integral part of the artwork. “Presence” will also be featured, allowing the public to see it for the first time within this narrative.
The exhibition’s title is also that of a new work, conceived specifically for the museum. *Thin Ice* is a large-scale installation that will occupy the ground floor of ARoS and recreate the sensation of walking on ice. Those who walk through it are led to pay attention to their steps and the consequences of every movement. It is the experience of someone who stops at the edge of a frozen lake and wonders if the surface will hold. Eliasson, however, shifts that question from the ice to those walking on it: the invitation is to look within and ask whether our actions—both individual and collective, that is, our “footprints” in a metaphorical sense—are sustainable. The physical experience of uncertainty thus becomes a tool for reflecting on our relationship with the environment, consistent with the direction the artist’s work has taken in recent years.
“Shared Futures” will not be confined to the exhibition halls. One of the project’s ambitions is to extend this collaboration beyond the museum’s walls into public space. Starting October 9, 2027, a new site-specific version of *Waterfall*—one of the artist’s best-known works from 2019—will be installedon ARoS’s Art Square , the plaza in front of the museum. The waterfall replicates the appearance, sound, and rhythm of a natural waterfall, yet fully exposes the structure that makes it function. The viewer sees both the effect and the mechanism that produces it: they witness a phenomenon reminiscent of nature while simultaneously understanding how it was constructed. This is a recurring theme in Eliasson’s work, as he has long explored water, movement, and the relationship between natural phenomena and built environments. The same theme was at the heart of *The New York City Waterfalls*, the monumental project realized in New York in 2008.
There is also a less spectacular but perhaps more enduring aspect of the agreement, which concerns research. The partnership includes a dedicated postdoctoral research position, in collaboration with Aarhus University, to explore Eliasson’s artistic practice in an academic setting. The museum will also establish a library dedicated to Olafur Eliasson, featuring a study space open to the public. Visitors, students, and researchers will be able to engage with the artist’s work, his thinking, and his creative processes. A program of public activities will complement these initiatives, designed to extend the encounter with the works beyond the duration of a single visit.
This is precisely the point the artist emphasizes. “ARoS has supported my work in Denmark for many years, so it was natural to make my online archive and library available there,” Eliasson stated. “For me, Shared Futures means that we share an interest in achieving something different from simply adding one plus one to make two: sometimes it can equal eleven. The ambition is to show that museums can offer the depth and focus needed to engage with an artist’s practice in a more detailed and thorough way. It’s about exploring different ways of looking at art and understanding how art operates in the wider world.”
The Relationship Between Eliasson and Aarhus
The new agreement is part of a relationship spanning more than twenty years. It all began in 2004 with *Minding the World*, Eliasson’s first exhibition at ARoS and also his first solo show in Denmark. It came immediately after a pivotal period in his international career: in 2003, he had represented Denmark at the Venice Biennale and presented *The Weather Project* at the Tate Modern in London. In 2011, the connection was strengthened with the unveiling of *Your Rainbow Panorama* on the museum’s roof. Since then, the work has become an internationally recognized symbol of Aarhus . Today, ARoS owns nine works by the artist and one of Europe’s most extensive collections of his installations. It is a relationship of rare scope, as it has encompassed exhibitions, the collection, and architecture, and has produced a permanent work that is now inseparable from the museum’s public identity.
ARoS Director Rebecca Matthews begins her discussion with *Your Rainbow Panorama *. “Olafur Eliasson is one of the most visionary artists of our time,” she says. “He has an extraordinary ability to make us see familiar things in a different way. Through light, space, and our own movement, his work makes us more aware of how we perceive the world and how we relate to one another. We’ve seen its power at ARoS, where *Your rainbow panorama* has become part of the way people experience both the museum and the city. With *Shared Futures*, we want to take this relationship even further. Not simply by presenting new works of art, but by creating opportunities for people to explore ideas, ask questions, and engage with some of the challenges we face together. This is the ambition behind Shared Futures: to make art an active part of how we understand the world we live in and the future we want to build together.”
The project is supported by Salling Fondene. “For over twenty years, the close collaboration between ARoS and Olafur Eliasson has brought extraordinary artistic experiences to Aarhus,” comments Karin Salling, vice president of the Købmand Herman Salling Foundation. “With Shared Futures, they are building on this shared history by opening up new experiences and new ways to bring people closer to art. As the Salling Foundations, we are proud to support Shared Futures, an ambitious, world-class art project that will inspire, spark curiosity, and invite even more people to engage with art.” The first stages of Shared Futures will take place in the fall of 2027: the exhibition “Thin Ice,” featuring the new installation on the ground floor and “Presence” in the main hall, and, starting October 9, the new “Waterfall” on the Art Square at ARoS in Aarhus.
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| In Denmark, a museum has commissioned Olafur Eliasson to create a project that goes far beyond a mere exhibition |
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