Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Wind writings (22 March 2023, 23 March 2023, 20 June 2023, 28 June 2023)’ & ‘Sun drawing (21 June 2023, 22 June 2023’ (2023), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2023 Olafur Eliasson

ACCLAIMED ICELANDIC-DANISH ARTIST OLAFUR ELIASSON’S FIRST MAJOR SURVEY EXHIBITION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA MAKES DEBUT AT SAM

Titled ‘Your curious journey’, the exhibition brings together 17 key works that encapsulate the themes and environmental concerns explored throughout Eliasson’s three-decade-long practice.

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Beauty’ (1993), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 1993 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Circumstellar resonator’ (2018), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2018 Olafur Eliasson

Singapore, 9 May 2024 – Singapore Art Museum (SAM) proudly announces the opening of the highly anticipated exhibition Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey, the first major solo exhibition in Southeast Asia dedicated to the work of internationally celebrated Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Featuring 17 artworks that employ diverse media to reflect the expanse of Eliasson’s wide-ranging oeuvre, the exhibition will touch on major themes of his three-decade-long practice — embodiment, experience, perception, as well as the urgency of climate action and more-than-human perspectives. Included in this stellar line-up are also never-before-seen works and Singapore-exclusive installations only available at this leg of the travelling show, as Your curious journey moves on to four other venues in the Asia-Pacific after making its debut at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark from 10 May to 22 September 2024.

➤ Detail view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Double spiral’ (2001), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2001 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Moss wall’ (1994), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 1994 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Detail view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘The last seven days of glacial ice’ (2024), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2024 Olafur Eliasson

Internationally renowned for his wide-ranging, genre-crossing works, Eliasson has exhibited his works in major museums and public spaces around the globe since 1997. Eliasson is known for his captivating installations that make the ungraspable tangible — heightening our awareness of our senses and playfully challenging our experience and perception of the world around us. Beyond that, Eliasson’s work continues to find meaningful resonance with contemporary audiences through his deep engagement with society and the environment.

➤ Detail view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘The seismographic testimony of distance (Berlin–Singapore, no. 1 to no. 6)’ (2024), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2024 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Yellow corridor’ (1997), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 1997 Olafur Eliasson

Eugene Tan, CEO and Director of SAM says, “SAM seeks to inspire change through art and cultivate spaces for collaborative dialogues to occur, and is delighted to bring the works of visionary artist Olafur Eliasson to Southeast Asia for the first time, at such scale. Taking over the museum’s galleries at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, audiences familiar with Eliasson’s iconic works can anticipate a broad range of works that unpack his unique aesthetic and the major themes that underscore his practice over the past 30 years. We also look forward to connect new audiences to Eliasson’s work in Your curious journey, where they can immerse themselves in Eliasson’s interactive installations and discover the varied perspectives that contemporary art can bring to some of today’s most pressing social and environmental issues. Along with our partners Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Museum MACAN, and Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Manila, we are excited to see how the global story of Your curious journey unfolds as it travels across Asia-Pacific.”

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘The glacier melt series 1999/2019’ (2019), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2019 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Detail view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘The cubic structural evolution project’ (2004), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2004 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Object defined by activity (then)’ (2009), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2009 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Symbiotic seeing’ (2020), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 2020 Olafur Eliasson

➤ Installation view of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Yellow corridor’ (1997), as part of ‘Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey’ at SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark; Photo: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures; Image courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum; © 1997 Olafur Eliasson