Press Release

For the first time, an artistic installation presented in the light-flooded Rotunda of the Pinakothek der Moderne focuses on the sun. From mid-April, the earth's rotation around the sun will become the protagonist of an ephemeral light painting - Olafur Eliasson's expansive artwork Sonnenenergie 22 (Solar Energy 22).

 

 

International Archives 1st half of 2022

Olafur Eliasson, Sonnenenergie 22

Pinakothek der Moderne, München (Germany)

15.04 - 04.09.2022

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Light has played a fundamental role in Eliasson's artistic work for decades now, which spans installations, paintings, sculptures, photography, and film. For Sonnenenergie 22, Eliasson has installed an immense circular projection surface at an angle within the rotunda. A series of circular, distorting mirrors and special color-effect filters on the north side of the glazed Rotunda ceiling cast sunlight onto the projection surface, and free-hanging rings of reflective glass and color filters add polytonal complexity by reflecting circles and arcs of light onto the screen. The moving, dynamic projections of sunlight make the invisible rotation of the earth almost physically tangible for us on the screen. Sonnenenergie 22 uses only sunlight as its energy source to create what Eliasson calls an "analog film"; on cloudy days and at night, when there is no direct sunlight, the screen will remain dark and the artwork dormant.

"From spring to autumn 2022, the sun and earth work together to create Sonnenenergie 22. As the earth's position in relation to the sun changes, the screenplay evolves, making the artwork constantly new. The unfolding narrative amplifies the movement of the earth so that the invisible motion becomes visible. When you encounter the artwork on a sunny day, it is your own movement that you see as you travel on this spaceship earth through the vastness of space." stated Olafur Eliasson.

Exhibition 15 April - 04 September 2022. Pinakothek der Moderne, Barer Str. 40 - 80333 München (Germany). Hours : Daily 10.00 – 18.00. Thursday 10.00 – 20.00. Monday closed.

 

 

 

 

 

© ArtCatalyse International / Marika Prévosto 2022. All Rights Reserved

Olafur Eliasson, Installation view, Sonnenenergie 22, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, 2022.

Photo by Juliane Eirich

© Photograph by Robin Watkins