One of the most famous artists of our time, Anish Kapoor has taken over the Hayward Gallery with something of a retrospective in this summer blockbuster. Works here range in scale from massive as above to smaller pieces in protective cases.
The first piece on entry feels as if it is trying to burst out of the space, constrained by its surroundings.
In contrast the next room houses more domestic-sized works while still exploring the concepts of perception and the void.
Much has been written about Vantablack, the darkest manufactured black “paint”. Spoiler alert: Vantablack isn’t actually a paint. It’s one thing to read about it, quite another to see it in person. The two pieces on show are encased which reduces the visual effect but I hope these photos give you some indication. The first Non-Object Black photo is sideways on…
the second full face (with glass reflections). You really can’t see anything apart from blackness.
This floor piece, Descent into Limbo, looks like a black carpet but is in fact a deep hole lined in Prussian blue pigment. It is cordoned off for safety reasons. Kapoor said that a viewer once threw his sunglasses at it in disgust only to watch them disappear, never to be seen again. Our sense of physical reality is regularly questioned.
This sculpture gives an indication of how his voids are constructed. That knowledge doesn’t diminish the effect and I admire the skill required to achieve something so pure and simple.
The same goes for his stainless steel pieces. The craftsmanship needs to be of the highest level to achieve this precision and purity.
This one, Iris, reminded me of the lense in the James Bond films.
Part 2 next week.