throughthelenseofart-blog

[throughthelenseofart-blog]

Objects in transition.

Anish Kapoor is a famous artist who is based in London. He was born in Mumbai, India in 1954, and known as one of the most influential and innovative sculptors of our time. His monumental public installations with mirrored surfaces, such as the Cloud Gate in Millennium Park  in Chicago, also nicknamed as a bean, became iconic places for pictures and tourists’ attractions. Kapoor’s work is engaging and interactive.  These monuments produce impossible reflections challenging empirical reality and our conventional ways of seeing. There is a constant dialogue between real and artificial, materiality and illusion. 

Kapoor’s exhibition at Lisson Gallery in Chelsea stops visitors in their tracks. Independent objects, as well as curatorial decisions, are spectacular.  There is only you and the sculpture in a pristine gallery space, with no redundant details, distractions, labels, etc. The elimination of the context reduces the focus of the viewer to sculptures as self-sufficient, self-explanatory objects. Such intimacy experience of sculpture and oneself in relation to it is an essential purpose of this show. Curators also took into account the interior space, and the lighting (natural as well as artificial), in order to enhance visitors’ experience. Dashes of white neons spread through the ceiling continue the idea of geometry, producing interesting reflections. Natural light, coming through one side of the ceiling-windows adds another source of dimensionality and movement. The display truly reveals the sculptures’ full potential.  

All objects have a circular element to them, as the artist is interested in concavities and convexities. Highly polished surfaces echo the environment and produce surreal reflections that cause disorientation in space and cognitive dissonance of the viewer. Kapoor calls his sculptures “objects in transition, both very physical and very elusive.” Standing close, I found it challenging to comprehend a real shape and volume of a sculpture, I was in a way consumed by its illusion while observing it from a distance I could see a physical form. The idea of a void, illusion, space manipulation is the main preoccupation of Kapoor’s artistic output. He challenges our optical perception and processes of looking. Even though sculptures are usually static and immobile, Kapoor’s innovative approach to material and volume creates an illusion of movement. The changing surroundings, light, moving people make them dynamic ethereal objects, that invite the audience to engage and question their inhabited space.

Tsunami (2018), a centered arch-like monumental piece, is definitely the highlight of the show. This sculpture is very powerful, and even ominous, as it literally consumes your reflection. There is a sense that you can disappear in the sculpture. The title provides a clue and evokes association with nature’s disaster. An experience of terror and beauty was precisely conveyed by the artist.  

Lisson Gallery represents Kapoor since 1982, however, this is his first show in the US. The Gallery is well-known for supporting minimal and conceptual artists across London and New York. I really enjoyed my experience and looking forward to coming back for new emotions and more challenging art.

X,

M.E.