Monumental 'Oe Quasi Light' by Olafur Eliasson for Louis Poulsen

Through his photography, drawings, paintings, films, sculptures and large-scale immersive installations that integrate natural elements such as light, water and air, artist Olafur Eliasson is focused on sustainability and climate change, and seeks to explore how human beings interact with their environment.

Born in 1967, Eliasson grew up in Denmark and Iceland and studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1989 to 1995. Following graduation, he moved to Berlin, where he founded his design studio — Studio Olafur Eliasson. 

Since 1997, Eliasson’s works have appeared in numerous museums worldwide, with his public-space installations garnering critical acclaim throughout the 2000s. In 2003, he represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale. That same year, he introduced his installation, The Weather Project, at the Tate Modern in London, for which he worked with a semi-circular screen, a ceiling of mirrors and artificial mist to create the illusion of a sun. 

In 2008, he was commissioned by New York’s Public Art Fund to create a public space project called Waterfalls, which was installed in several locations along New York City’s waterfronts. Then, in 2011, Eliasson created Your Rainbow Panorama, a circular, richly colored glass walkway on top of the ARoS Museum in Aarhus, Denmark. 

For Eliasson’s famous work Ice Watch, he and geologist Minik Rosing brought icebergs from Greenland to public squares in Copenhagen (2014), Paris (2015) and London (2018) in order to raise awareness of climate change.

Eliasson’s dedication to environmentalism extends past his art. In 2012, he founded the company Little Sun with engineer Frederik Ottesen, which produces and distributes solar lamps and chargers for use in off-grid communities. 

Discover a range of authentic Olafur Eliasson art on 1stDibs.

Louis Poulsen is world-renowned as an innovator in modern Danish lighting, but this wasn’t the goal from the start. Founded in 1874 by Ludvig R. Poulsen as a wine importer, the business went through several incarnations before its first pendant lights came to fruition. Through its designs, the company helped establish the foundations of good lighting — function, comfort and ambience — that are now standard in modern furniture design.

In 1924, Danish architect Poul Henningsen partnered with Louis Poulsen & Co., then an electrical supply company, to create what’s now known as the Paris lamp. This design, which incorporated three layers of curved metal disks, created ambience with its indirect light instead of glare. Shown at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris — the exhibition that brought Art Deco design to worldwide attention — the Paris lamp was awarded a gold medal. This led to Poulsen and Henningsen working together on several lighting pieces, including the popular PH pendant light with its concentric shades for the Forum Building in Copenhagen. These high-profile projects helped make Louis Poulsen a go-to purveyor of innovative lighting design.

One of the company’s most well-known lamps is Henningsen’s PH Artichoke lamp (1958), with its 72 copper leaves artfully placed to conceal the light bulb, prevent glare and promote a warm, alluring glow in any room. Another is the steel and die-cast zinc AJ lamp (1960), which Arne Jacobsen designed with an adjustable angled shade for his commission for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. The company has also worked with notables such as Verner Panton and Alfred Homann as well as, more recently, Louise Campbell and Oki Sato.

In 2010, the company was awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Honors in Collaborative Achievement Award; it was the first lighting manufacturer to receive this honor. In 2018, the company was acquired by an investment subsidiary of Investindustrial VI L.P. Still headquartered in Denmark, the brand continues to produce its high-end lighting for both indoor and outdoor use, manufacturing both classic icons as well as new designs. “We design to shape light,” states Louis Poulsen. In doing so, they have also shaped culture.

Find a range of new and vintage Louis Poulsen floor lamps, table lamps and other lighting and furniture on 1stDibs.