PRESS RELEASE

2020.1.9

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
are carrying out this exhibition as part of the Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL.

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

Olafur Eliasson: Sometimes the river is the bridge
14 March – 14 June 2020

“I am holding a small power station in my hand with sunshine I brought from Berlin to Japan,” said Olafur Eliasson at theMuseum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) in April 2019, as he illuminated his surroundings using a Little Sun lamp – asolar-powered mobile light he created to provide clean, affordable energy to those without access to electricity.
MOT is pleased to announce Eliasson’s upcoming solo exhibition Olafur Eliasson: Sometimes the river is the bridge, theDanish-Icelandic artist’s first exhibition in Japan in ten years.
Eliasson is highly regarded for his efforts to advance sustainable development through his art, and this is reflected in theexhibition title. “Sometimes the river is the bridge is about a fundamental shift in perspective that allows us to see thatwhich is not obvious, the invisible. In the face of the collapse of our planetary boundaries, there is an urgent need toredesign the systems in which we live, to re-engineer the future. For that to happen, we need to reconsider fundamentally
how we see everything. Up until now, we have organized our present based on the past; we now need to shape our present
according to what we want from the future. The potential of this perspective shift is that it can help us reconsider thetraditional idea of progress.”, the artist states. His interests in renewable energy and climate action form an integral part ofthe exhibition.
Since the early 1990s, Eliasson (b. 1967) has built up a wide-ranging artistic practice that spans the fields of photography,
sculpture, drawing, installation, design, and architecture. Sometimes the river is the bridge features a representative
selection of his works, many of which have never been seen before in Japan. This includes early and recent installations thatuse natural materials; sculptures that reflect Eliasson’s long-held interest in light and geometry; photographic series;
drawings and watercolours; and documentation of several of the artist’s interventions in public space.
As a child Eliasson spent a considerable amount of time in Iceland, which led to his ongoing project of documenting thelandscapes and natural phenomena there. His photographic work “The glacier melt series 1999/2019” (2019) makes tangible
the shrinking of Iceland’s glaciers over the last 20 years.
Influenced by our complex relationship to nature, Eliasson’s installations often use natural phenomena – such as light, waterand mist – to heighten our understanding of the way we perceive and co-produce the world around us. At MOT, visitors
are invited to view the artist’s earliest work in the exhibition, “Beauty” (1993), where a rainbow emerges in a darkened space.
A major installation created specifically for the exhibition will utilize the cavernous space of MOT’s atrium.
The activities of Studio Olafur Eliasson (SOE) are not limited to the production of artworks. Ideas and projects are developed
through daily experimentation, collaboration and research. Sometimes the river is the bridge will integrate some of thisprocess into the exhibition through a display of the studio’s recent research into new sustainable and biodegradable
materials as well as recycling techniques.
The accompanying catalogue features a curatorial essay by Yuko Hasegawa, Artistic Director of the MOT, and conversations
between Olafur Eliasson and philosopher Timothy Morton.

Contact

Media Inquiries about the Exhibition: Yoshiko Nawa E-MAIL: info@relayrelay.net
Inquiries about the Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Public Relations
Mihoko Nakajima / Chiako Kudo E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en1

Highlights
1 New and old works
For his solo exhibition at MOT, Eliasson presents several new works, including two major installations that are locatedinside and outside the museum, photographic series, and documentation from several of Eliasson’s interventions inpublic space. The exhibition features several experiential artworks and installations, such as Eliasson’s key early work
“Beauty” (1993).

1Olafur Eliasson, Beauty, 1993
Installation view: Moderna Museet, Stockholm 2015
Photo: Anders Sune Berg
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin;
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles© 1993 Olafur Eliasson
2
Test for new work for Olafur Eliasson: Sometimes the river isthe bridge, 2019Photo: María del Pilar García Ayensa / Studio Olafur Eliasson

2 Works from Iceland exploring the landscapeEliasson has photographed the Icelandic landscape for more than two decades. “The glacier melt series 1999/2019”(2019) is irrefutable proof of the changes in Iceland’s glacier ice masses over the last 20 years.

3Olafur Eliasson, The glacier melt series 1999/2019, 2019
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya
Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles© 2019 Olafur Eliasson
Photo: Michael Waldrep / Studio Olafur Eliasson

Contact

4
Olafur Eliasson photographing The glacier melt series 1999/2019,2019 in Reyjavik.
Photo: Studio Olafur Eliasson / Alcuin Stevenson

Media Inquiries about the Exhibition: Yoshiko Nawa E-MAIL: info@relayrelay.net
Inquiries about the Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Public Relations
Mihoko Nakajima / Chiako Kudo E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en2

3 Sustainable practice
From the use of solar-powered lights to his efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation ofartworks, Eliasson addresses in this exhibition the urgent need to act on the global climate crisis. “Sunlight Graffiti”(2012) invites visitors to create drawings with sunlight stored in Eliasson’s Little Sun solar-powered lamps. The
activities of Studio Olafur Eliasson are not limited to the production of artworks. They also encompass a variety ofexperiments carried out on a daily basis that tackle design and architectural questions as well as research into newmaterials. The exhibition will display the studio’s research into new sustainable and biodegradable materials andrecycling techniques.

5Olafur Eliasson, Sunlight graffiti, 2012
Installation view: Tate Modern, London
Photo: Zan Wimberley, 2019
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin;
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

About Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson was born in 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and iscurrently based in Berlin and Copenhagen. After a childhood spent inIceland and Denmark, Eliasson studied at the Royal Danish Academyof Fine Arts from 1989 until 1995. In 1995, he moved to Berlin andfounded Studio Olafur Eliasson, which consists of a large team,including craftspeople, architects, researchers, cooks, and art
historians. In 2014, Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmannfounded Studio Other Spaces, an office for art and architecture.
Eliasson often uses natural phenomena and is internationallyrenowned for works like “The weather project” (2003), installed in theTurbine Hall at Tate Modern, London, or his public art project “TheNew York City Waterfalls” (2008), for which he installed four artificial
waterfalls along the East River and on Governors Island, New York, US.

6Portrait of Olafur Eliasson
Photo: Brigitte Lacombe, 2016
© 2016 Olafur Eliasson

In recent years, Eliasson has increased his efforts to advance sustainable development. In 2012, Eliasson and engineer
Frederik Ottesen founded the social business Little Sun to replace fossil-fuel lighting with solar energy in communities
living without electricity and to raise awareness of the need to expand energy access to all. For the public installation“Ice Watch”, Eliasson and geologist Minik Rosing transported massive blocks of glacial ice from Greenland toCopenhagen (2014), Paris (2015), and London (2018) to raise awareness of climate change. Eliasson was appointed
as a Goodwill Ambassador for renewable energy and climate action by the United Nations Development Programmein 2019.
Eliasson has held exhibitions at Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in 2005 and 21st Century Museum ofContemporary Art, Kanazawa in 2009-2010 in Japan.
Visit olafureliasson.net; soe.tv; studiootherspaces.net; or littlesun.com or follow @olafureliasson on Twitter;@studioolafureliasson and @soe_kitchen on Instagram; and @studioolafureliasson on Facebook.
Contact

Media Inquiries about the Exhibition: Yoshiko Nawa E-MAIL: info@relayrelay.net
Inquiries about the Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Public Relations
Mihoko Nakajima / Chiako Kudo E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en3

Message from Kvadrat
Kvadrat is honored to support Olafur Eliasson with textiles for this exhibition. Olafur Eliasson has closely collaborated
with Kvadrat’s product development team and together, they have worked on experiments that translate his artistic
interests and research in sustainability into the world of textiles.

About Kvadrat

Kvadrat was established in Denmark in 1968 and has deep roots in Scandinavia’s world-famous design tradition. Aleader in design innovation, Kvadrat produces high-performance, design textiles, rugs, acoustic and window coveringsolutions for both commercial and residential interiors. Olafur Eliasson and Kvadrat have worked together on
numerous projects for more than ten years, a journey that started with the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in 2007 andhas continued ever since.
www.kvadrat.dk

Public programme
Lecture by Olafur Eliasson
Date & Time | Saturday, March 14, 11:00 - 12:30
Venue | Museum Contemporary Art Tokyo

16:00 - 17:30*Please note that the time has changed.

*Please check our website (www.mot-art-museum.jp/eng/) for further details.

Information
Exhibition Period
ClosedOpening Hours
Admission
Venue
Organized by
Supported bySponsored by
Grant from
Curated by
Exhibition Staff

Sat. 14 March – Sun. 14 June, 2020
Mondays (except 4 May), 7 May
10:00 - 18:00 (Tickets available until 30 minutes before closing.)
Adults – 1400yen / University & College Students, Over 65 – 1000yen / High School & Junior HighSchool Students –500yen / Elementary School Students & Under – Free
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Exhibition Gallery B2F
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History andCulture / The Sankei Shimbun
Embassy of Iceland, Japan / Royal Danish Embassy
Kvadrat / Bloomberg L.P. / JINS HOLDINGS Inc.
The Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation
Yuko Hasegawa (MOT)Ai Kusumoto (MOT)

Concurrent Exhibitions
Collaborative exhibition with KADIST Things Entangling
The Potentiality of Drawing
MOT Collection：Present Day and in Times Past –Multiple Perspectives*Tickets for Olafur Eliasson also include admission to MOT Collection.

Contact

Media Inquiries about the Exhibition: Yoshiko Nawa E-MAIL: info@relayrelay.net
Inquiries about the Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Public RelationsMihoko Nakajima / Chiako Kudo E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en4

PRESS IMAGES

8
Olafur Eliasson, Slow-motion shadow, 2009
Installation view: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art,
Kanazawa, Japan, 2009-2010
Photo: Studio Olafur Eliasson, 2009
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya
Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles
7
Olafur Eliasson, Methane matter, 2019
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya
Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles10Olafur Eliasson, Beyond-human resonator, 2019
Photo: Jens ZieheCourtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya
Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles
9Olafur Eliasson,

The exploration of the centre of the sun, 2017
Installation view: PKM Gallery, Seoul, 2017
Photo: Jeon Byung Cheol, 2017
Courtesy of the artist and PKM Gallery, Seoul© 2017 Olafur Eliasson

Contact

Media Inquiries about the Exhibition: Yoshiko Nawa E-MAIL: info@relayrelay.net
Inquiries about the Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Public Relations
Mihoko Nakajima / Chiako Kudo E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en5

IMAGE REQUEST FORM

FAX. +81-3-5245-1141

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to the exhibition. Use of the press images for any other purpose requires the additional prior permission of the museum and may
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Press images must be reproduced in their entirety, and must include any available identifying information provided by themuseum, including proprietary collection information, credit lines, copyright, and trademark notices. Images may not be cropped,detailed, overprinted, or altered.
The images can be obtained upon request using the following image request form. Please provide the following information via
e-mail or fax (+81-3-5245-1141). With regards to the usage of these images in your publication, we would like to make thefollowing requests:* We would much appreciate it if we could be provided with a copy of respective article texts for us to check for errors before thefinal print.
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1

Olafur Eliasson, Beauty , 1993
Installation view: Moderna Museet, Stockholm 2015 Photo: Anders Sune Berg
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles© 1993 Olafur Eliasson

2Test for new work for Olafur Eliasson: Sometimes the river is the bridge, 2019
Photo: María del Pilar García Ayensa / Studio Olafur Eliasson

3Olafur Eliasson, The glacier melt series 1999/2019 , 2019
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles© 2019 Olafur Eliasson Photo: Michael Waldrep / Studio Olafur Eliasson

4Olafur Eliasson photographing The glacier melt series 1999/2019 , 2019 in Reyjavik.
Photo: Studio Olafur Eliasson / Alcuin Stevenson

5Olafur Eliasson, Sunlight graffiti , 2012
Installation view: Tate Modern, London Photo: Zan Wimberley, 2019
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

6Portrait of Olafur Eliasson
Photo: Brigitte Lacombe, 20167

Olafur Eliasson, Methane matter , 2019
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

8Olafur Eliasson, Slow-motion shadow , 2009
Installation view: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan, 2009-2010
Photo: Studio Olafur Eliasson, 2009
Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

9Olafur Eliasson, The exploration of the centre of the sun , 2017
Installation view: PKM Gallery, Seoul, 2017 Photo: Jeon Byung Cheol, 2017
Courtesy of the artist and PKM Gallery, Seoul © 2017 Olafur Eliasson© 2016 Olafur Eliasson

10 Olafur Eliasson, Beyond-human resonator , 2019
Photo: Jens ZieheCourtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles
Contact

Media Inquiries about the Exhibition: Yoshiko Nawa E-MAIL: info@relayrelay.net
Inquiries about the Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Public Relations
Mihoko Nakajima / Chiako Kudo E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en6