Riverbed- Olafur Eliasson

In the fall of 2014, the internationally acclaimed Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson (born 1967) presented the major solo exhibition Riverbed at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.

The exhibition marked Eliasson’s first solo presentation at the renowned museum on the outskirts of Copenhagen and centered on a monumental, site-specific intervention: a vast landscape of rocks and flowing water that occupied much of the museum’s exhibition space.

The installation fundamentally transformed both the architecture of the museum and the visitor’s experience of it. Navigating the reconstructed terrain became an embodied journey, shaped by movement, perception, and encounters with others. The work extended beyond the interior galleries, conceptually linking the museum space to the surrounding landscape and the world outside.

This publication introduces Eliasson’s artistic practice and the ideas underpinning Riverbed to a broader audience through interviews, dialogues, and an introductory essay by Louisiana curator Marie Laurberg. Additional contributions by Niels Albertsen, Pireeni Sundaralingam, Timothy Morton, Lone Frank, Andreas Roepstorff, Minik Rosing, and EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard expand the discussion across artistic, scientific, and environmental perspectives.