The presence of absence (Nuup Kangerlua, 24 September 2015 #3)
Artist
Olafur Eliasson
(Danish Icelandic, born 1967)
Date2016
MediumConcrete
DimensionsOverall: 39 1/2 × 39 3/8 × 38 7/8 inches (100.33 × 100.01 × 98.74 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of the William T. Kemper Foundation–Commerce Bank, Trustee
Object number2017.25
On View
Not on viewCollections
Terms
To create The presence of absence (Nuup Kangerlua, 24 September 2015 #3), Olafur Eliasson cast a cube of concrete around a piece of glacial ice. The ice has since melted, but it is revealed in its absence—the textural interior of the cube embodies its shape. By visualizing the melting glacier, this work examines environmental issues. Eliasson seeks to make the current climate crisis immediate and real to those who encounter his art. He says that he was attempting to “make what scientists tell us available for people so they can understand it in a second.”
With Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, by February 2017;
Purchased from Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, by the Nelson‑Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 2017.
Copyright© Olafur Eliasson
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2018.72.45
