Anish Kapoor is an Indian-born British installation artist, a sculptor.
Born in 1954 in Bombay, India, Kapoor was raised with an Indian education.
He gained international acclaim because he represented Britain in 1990 and with exhibits at venues such as the Tate Gallery and Hayward Gallery in London, Kunsthalle Basel, Haus der Kunst Munich, Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, Reina Sofia in Madrid, MAK Vienna, and the ICA Boston. He represented Britain in the XLIV Venice Biennale in 1990, when he was awarded the Premio Duemila Prize. In 1991 he received the Turner Prize. Notable public sculptures include Cloud Gate, Millennium Park, Chicago, and Sky Mirror at the Rockefeller Center, New York. Anish Kapoor is a Royal Academician and was made a Commander of the British Empire in 2003.
In my opinion Anish Kapoor pieces are frequently simple, with curved forms, usually monochromatic and brightly coloured. I think that his intention is to engage the viewer, producing fear through their size and simple beauty, evoking sometimes mystery through the works dark cavities. Early works have some points of pigment to cover the works and the floor around them and his intention is to catch the attention of the viewer. Colored temples and markets of India inspired him. His later works are made of solid, stone, many of which have carved apertures and cavities, often alluding to dualities (earth-sky, matter-spirit, lightness-darkness, visible-invisible, conscious-unconscious, male-female and body-mind). His most recent works are mirror-like, reflecting or distorting the viewer and surroundings. The use of red wax is also part of his current repertoire, evocative of flesh, blood and transfiguration.
