Breathing Earth, Eliasson Olafur, 2024, from https://olafureliasson.net/artworks/

J M W Turner is famous for his scrutiny of environmental and weather conditions, and loved to experiment with colours, textures and techniques. Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, born 1967, rocketed to fame when two million people visited his Weather Project at Tate Modern (2003-4). Iceland’s concert hall Harpa, 2011, with stunning glass facades, is a supreme example of his innovative talent (https://www.harpa.is/en/guided-tours).

This lecture will focus on these two environmentalists and innovators, and includes Turner’s sublime landscapes where geology, light and weather play a major role, and photos of Eliasson’s work inspired by Iceland’s volcanic landscapes and extreme weather conditions, and will conclude with Eliasson’s abstract paintings created in 2014 in response to seven of Turner’s late works.

Lecturer Susan Wood, (PhD), is a cultural historian who, after retiring from her career as a University lecturer, volunteered as a Guide at Tate Modern and Tate Britain and Dulwich Picture Gallery. Now living in the North-East, she is Tyneside Arts Society's Programme Secretary and is also a practising artist who regularly exhibits at Northern Print.