While artists often hope to control the way their work is received, a survey of mostly new work by Olafur Eliasson takes a different stand in its title: 'Open'. His exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, many years in preparation, includes 11 new pieces that invite participation without prejudice. Simply walk into the vast darkened galleries and be immersed in the effects of light as it is transformed by prisms, mirrors or LEDs into pure experience. 'Open' is also the title of a giant rainbow, glowing on a wall, that is produced by a round prism milled by the artist. 'A rainbow is actually a circle that only appears to be an arch because of the horizon line. In this case, the floor of the gallery is what keeps the rainbow from being a full circle,' he explains.
