AnishKapoor:From

ConceptualismtoActivism
Amah-RoseAbrams,Tuesday,December8,2015
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AnishKapoorUntitled(2012)
Photo:courtesyHeatherJamesFineArt

AnishKapoorisrarelyoutoftheheadlines.
Whetheritisthankstoaprestigiouspublic
commission,oraboldactofprotest,heis
oneofthemostprolificandmostvocal
contemporarysculptorsofourtime.
Hisgalleryshowsandpublicsculptures
havemadehimoneoftheworld'sbestknownlivingartists,andalongwithhis
outspokennature,Kapoorisfirmlyatthe
forefrontofcontemporarycultureinthe
UK.

KapoormovedtoLondonintheearly
1970s,havinggrownupinMumbai,India.
HefirststudiedatHornseyArtCollege
beforegraduatingontotheChelsea

CollegeofArt.InfluencedbyModernist
andMinimalistsculpture,helater
explainedhisdesiretolookalittledeeper
thanthefamousartistsoftheday.
"DonaldJuddusedtosaythatartdoesn't
getmade,ithappens,"Kapoortold
theGuardianin2008.Theimplicationof
thatisthatthestudioisaplaceofa
certainkindofpractice.Andthere,things
occurthathopefullyhavedeepquotidian
recallbutarenotdirectedbythe
quotidianworld.Sothepost-Warholian
notionthateverythingintheworldisall
artit'sfine,butwhatitavoidsisthetruly
poetic,orthepoeticofaslightlydifferent
order.Andit'sthatorderIaminterested
in."

AnishKapoor,Untitled(1990)
Photo:courtesyGladstoneGallery

Kapoor'sfirstmajorexhibitionwasat
theHaywardGallery,aspartoftheirshow
NewSculpture,"whichwasheldshortly
afterheleftcollegein1978.Atthistime,
thesculptorwasworkingwithdrypigment,

whichhewouldshapeintointricately
tieredandtexturedworksrenderedin
impactful,saturatedcolors.
Havinggainedrecognitionduringthe
1980s,Kapoorbecamerepresented
byLissonGallery,andhiscareerbeganto
takeoffinearnestintheearly90swhen
herepresentedBritainattheVenice
Biennalein1990.Therehewasawarded
thePremioDuemila,andhethenwenton
towintheprestigiousTurnerPrizethe
followingyear,in1991.

AnishKapoor,NonObject(Spire)(2008)
Photo:courtesyGladstoneGallery

Itwasoveradecadelaterthathetruly
brokeintothemainstream,winningover
theBritishart-goingpublicwiththe
installationofhismonumental
sculpture,Marsyas(2002),intheturbine

hallatTateModern.Theenormous,red,
funnel-likestructurewhichconsistedof
onepieceofPVCstretchedoverthree
rings,atalengthof3,400squarefeetis
stillrememberedasoneofthemost
successfulandbelovedinstallationsinthe
famedexhibitionspace.
Bythemid-90s,Kapoorhadbeguntowork
withstainlesssteel,creatingdramatic,
mirroredworksinconcaveandconvex
forms.Perhapshismostfamousworkin
thismaterialisCloudGate(2006),orthe
Bean"asitisaffectionatelynicknamed,
installedinChicago'sMillenniumPark.
Thispopularsculptureisjustoneofmany
publiccommissions,suchasSky
Mirror,whichhasbeenreproducedseveral
times,andcanbeseeninLondon's
KensingtonGardensaswellasat

RockerfellerCenterinNewYork.Another
famedpublicworkisthelarge,twisting
metalstructuretitledArcelorMittal
Orbit(2012),whichisonviewattheQueen
ElizabethOlympicParkinStratford,
London.

AnishKapoorSvayambh(2007)
Photo:SchellmannArt+Furniture

Kapooralsoworkswithmoreimpermanent
materials,suchaswax,whichheusesto
createafleshyandmeat-likeconsistency
inbothlarge-scaleinstallationsandin
hungworks.
Regardlessoftheirmaterial,although
Kapoor'ssculpturestendtobevery
beautifultolookat,theyrefusetosit
quietlyandavoidcontroversy.Despitethe
factthereisnofigurativecontentor
explicitmessageinhiswork,ittendsto
provokestrongreactionsthestrongest
perhapsbeingthefuroroverhispieceDirty
Corner(2015),installedathissolo
exhibitionatthePalaceofVersaillesthis
pastsummer.

AnishKapoorTitletobeConfirmed(2009)
Photo:courtesyRegenProjects

Whenheinformallyrenamedthe
monumentalironworkTheQueen's
Vagina,"thisenragedjustabouteveryone
fromartloverstopoliticiansand,

unfortunately,theFrenchfar-right.The
sculpturewasrepeatedlyvandalizedwith
anti-Semitichatespeech(Kapoorisof
IndianandJewishparentage)andwhen
theartistrefusedtoremovethegraffitias
aformofprotest,therewasathreatof
legalactionfromtheauthorities.A
compromisewaseventuallyreached,and
thegraffitiwascoveredingoldleaf.
Welost,canyoubelieveit?"Kapoortold
artnetNews,inOctober2015.Somevery
racist,inmyview,deputyfromparliament
tookmetocourt.Wewereforcedtohide
thegraffiti.It'saterrible,sadthing."
Unsurprisingly,thishasdonenothingto
dampenKapoor'spoliticalspirit,andhe
hascontinuedtospeakoutonavarietyif
issuesthroughout2015.Fromthewalkof

compassion"heundertookwithAi
WeiweiinsupportofSyrianrefugees,to
comparingthecurrentIndianPrime
Minister,NarendraModi,totheTalibanin
aGuardianeditorial,Kapoorhasremaineda
vocalandpassionatedefenderoffree
speechandhumanrights.
Whetherheistacklingoppressionhead-on
orcreatinginventivenewart,Kapoordoes
thiswithaverveandconfidencewhichis
hardtoignore.Youcouldalwaysfollow
himonhisInstagram,@dirtycorner,if
you'recurioustoseewherehisartistic
practicetakeshimnext.Astheturbulent
worldstageshowsnosignofcalming
down,itseemslikelythatKapoorwillhave
plentytosay.
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