Anish Kapoor (1954 – )
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UNTITLED 1995 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P6476 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1998 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P7072 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1998 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P7075 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1998 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P7068 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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THE CHANT OF BLUE 1983 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P4362 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1995 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P6475 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1998 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P7074 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1995 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P6481 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1995 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P6472 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
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UNTITLED 1998 Anish Kapoor (1954 – ) P7071 © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023.
Kapoor was born in Bombay, India. He studied at Hornsey College of Art, London 1973 - 1977, and at Chelsea School of Art, London 1977 - 1978. He had his first solo show at Patrice Alexander, Paris in 1980, and his first solo exhibition in a public gallery in 1982 following his term as Artist in Residence at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. It was also in 1982 that he had the first of his many solo exhibitions at the Lisson Gallery, London. His first solo show in New York was at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery in 1984. Kapoor represented Britain at the XLIV Venice Biennale in 1990 when he was awarded the Premio Duemila Prize, and in 1991 he received the Turner Prize at the Tate Gallery, London. He has participated in many important solo and group exhibitions throughout the world and has undertaken a number of major large-scale installations and commissions including: Tarantantara for the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, Parabolic Waters for the Millennium Dome New Sculpture Project, London, both in 2000, and Marsyasfor the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London in 2002. During the last decade Kapoor has received a number of honorary doctorates and fellowships from academic institutions, and in 2003 he was appointed CBE. He lives and works in London.
Kapoor’s first use of powdered pigment for his sculpture followed a visit to his native India in 1979. The earliest of these sculptures were composed of pigment and chalk and comprised of groupings of forms in pure colour: "one of the things I was trying to do was to arrive at something which was as if unmade, as if self-manifest, as if there by its own volition." As he developed his sculpture, a basic support of wood, fibreglass or plaster was introduced and the shapes began to suggest plant and mineral forms as in White Sand, Red Millet, Many Flowers, 1982 and The Chant of Blue, 1983. It was these works which secured his early reputation both at home and on the international stage as his sculpture was selected for showing in important exhibitions such as Aperto '82, XL Venice Biennale in 1982, and Transformations: new Sculpture from Britainat the XVII São Paulo Bienal, in 1983. In addition to the exterior colour, he began to explore the interior spaces of objects with the 'void' sculptures from the mid 1980s onwards: "to make an object which is not an object, to make a hole in the space, to make something which actually does not exist." Over the years he has worked with a wide variety of materials including sandstone, marble, concrete, iron and steel. Colour has always been an essential symbolic ingredient in his work and has continued to inform and provide a driving force for Kapoor as most powerfully expressed in the monumental void works of recent years.
Anish Kapoor quoted in Constance Lewallen, 'Interview with Anish Kapoor, Japan, September, 1990,' View, vol. VII, no. 4, San Francisco 1991
Further reading:
Germano Celant, Anish Kapoor, Edizioni Charta, Milan, 1996
Homi K Bhabha, Pier Luigi Tazzi, Anish Kapoor, Hayward Gallery, London and University of California Press, 1998
Donna De Salvo, Cecil Balmond, Anish Kapoor: Marsyas, Tate Publishing, 2002
Glossary
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Contemporary
Existing or coming into being at the same period; of today or of the present. The term that designates art being made today.
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Fibreglass
A light and durable material made from glass filaments embedded in plastic that can be moulded, stained or painted.
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Sculpture
A three-dimensional work of art. Such works may be carved, modelled, constructed, or cast. Sculptures can also be described as assemblage, in the round, relief, and made in a huge variety of media. Contemporary practice also includes live elements, as in Gilbert & George 'Living Sculpture' as well as broadcast work, radio or sound sculpture.
See in
Portfolios
- Ireland, Letterkenny, Glebe House and Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/seeing-round-corners-2016">Seeing Round Corners- UK, Margate, Turner Contemporary
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/making-it-sculpture-in-britain-1977-1986-2015">Making it Sculpture in Britain 1977-1986- Scotland, Edinburgh, City Art Centre
- UK, Warwick, Mead Gallery, Warwick University
- UK, Wakefield, Longside Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/third-dimension-sculpture-from-the-british-council-collection-2012">THIRD DIMENSION SCULPTURE FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL COLLECTION- UK, Canterbury, Sidney Cooper Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/the-third-dimension-munsterland-festival-2011-2011">THE THIRD DIMENSION - MUNSTERLAND FESTIVAL 2011- Germany, Emsdetten, GALERIE MUNSTERLAND
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/anish-kapoor-flashback-2011">ANISH KAPOOR FLASHBACK- UK, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
- UK, Nottingham, Castle Museum And Art Gallery
- UK, Manchester, Manchester City Art Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/anish-kapoor-delhi-mumbai-2010">ANISH KAPOOR: DELHI MUMBAI- India, Mumbai, Mehboob Film Studios
- India, New Delhi, National Gallery Of Modern Art
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/rock-paper-scissors-2010">ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS- Ukraine, Kyiv, Bottega Gallery
- Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijani Academy Of Fine Arts
- Georgia, Academy Of Arts
- Armenia, Yerevan, Fine Arts Academy
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/the-future-demands-your-participation-2010">THE FUTURE DEMANDS YOUR PARTICIPATION- China, Shanghai, Minsheng Art Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/passports-in-viaggio-con-larte-2009">PASSPORTS. IN VIAGGIO CON L'ARTE- Italy, Milan, Padglione D'arte Contemporanea
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/passports-great-early-buys-from-the-british-council-collection-2009">PASSPORTS: GREAT EARLY BUYS FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL COLLECTION- UK, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/place-no-place-2008">PLACE / NO PLACE- Japan, Osaka, Dojima River Forum
- UK, London, RIBA
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/form-2004">FORM- Ireland, Letterkenny Arts Centre
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/turning-points-20th-century-british-sculpture-2004">TURNING POINTS 20TH CENTURY BRITISH SCULPTURE- Iran, Tehran, Museum Of Contemporary Art
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/field-day-sculpture-from-britain-2001">FIELD DAY SCULPTURE FROM BRITAIN- Taiwan, Taipei, Taipei Fine Arts Museum
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/le-musee-a-lheure-anglaise-1999">LE MUSEE A L'HEURE ANGLAISE- France, Valenciennes, Musee Des Beaux Arts
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/a-changed-world-1997">A CHANGED WORLD- Malta, Valletta, St James Cavalier Centre For Creativity
- Cyprus, Nicosia, Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre
- Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, National Gallery Of Zimbabwe In Bulawayo
- South Africa, Cape Town, South African National Gallery
- South Africa, Johannesburg, Johannesburg Art Gallery
- Zimbabwe, Harare, National Gallery Of Zimbabwe
- Pakistan, Lahore, The Old Fort
- Pakistan, Karachi, Hindu Gymkhana
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/eec-exhibition-1996">EEC EXHIBITION- Ireland, Dublin, Royal Hibernian Academy
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/a-changing-world-50-years-of-sculpture-from-the-british-council-collection-1994">A CHANGING WORLD 50 YEARS OF SCULPTURE FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL COLLECTION- Germany, Essen, Folkwang Museum
- Morocco, Casablanca, Espace Wafabank
- Czech Republic, Prague, Riding Hall, Prague Castle
- Russia, Moscow, New Tretyakov Museum
- Russia, St Petersburg, The Russian Museum
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/new-voices-1992">NEW VOICES- Macedonia, Skopje, Museum Of Modern Art
- Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Musuem Of Fine Arts, The House Of The Black Madonna
- Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kremlin Museum
- Slovakia, Bratislava, Mirbachov Palace
- Russia, St Petersburg, The Russian Museum
- Greece, Athens, Art Halls Of The Cultural Centre Of The Municipality Of Athens
- Romania, Bucharest, National Theatre Galleries
- Germany, Magdeburg, Kulturhistorisches Museum
- Spain, Jerez, Sala Pescaderia Vieja, Ayunamiento De Jerez
- Spain, Murcia, Veronicas Sala De Exposiciones
- Spain, Madrid, Centro Cultural Galileo
- Spain, Bilbao, Museo De Bellas Artes De Bilbao
- Spain, Barcelona, Centre De Art Santa Monica
- Turkey, Izmir, Izfas Gallery
- Turkey, Ankara, State Fine Arts Gallery
- Turkey, Istanbul, Istanbul Greater City Municipality Taksim Art Gallery
- Luxembourg, Musee National D'histoire Et D'art
- Belgium, Brussels, EEC Presidency Exhibition
- Belgium, Brussels, La Borschette
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/for-a-wider-world-1990">FOR A WIDER WORLD- Argentina, Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes
- Bulgaria, Sofia, SS Cyril and Methodius International Foundation
- Luxembourg, Musee National D'histoire Et D'art
- USSR, Kyiv, Ukrainian Museum of Fine Arts
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http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/exhibition/1983-sao-paulo-bienal-transformations-1983">1983 SAO PAULO BIENAL - TRANSFORMATIONS- Portugal, Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
- Mexico, Mexico City, Museo De Arte Moderno
- Brazil, Rio De Janeiro, Museu De Arte Contemporânea de Niterói (MAC)
- Brazil, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Bienal