Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Things to do

Culture Whisper Review: Anish Kapoor, Lisson Gallery ★★★★★

By CW Contributor on 24/3/2015

REVIEW: Anish Kapoor 2015, Lisson gallery: an extraordinary show. 

Culture Whisper Review: Anish Kapoor, Lisson Gallery [STAR:4]
Culture Whisper Review: Anish Kapoor, Lisson Gallery [STAR:4]
Anish Kapoor 2015

“I’m not really interested in expression” Anish Kapoor muses at the opening of his latest Lisson Gallery show. “I have nothing to say as an artist”.


Good thing, then, that his latest works speak for themselves. Nothing can prepare you for the feeling of standing in front of one. Tides of flesh in resin and silicone loom ten feet high. Crimson ribbons twist into folds and flaps; behind these, dark recesses. Touches of blue deepen the palette, while shocks of white suggest bone and cartilage. Horribly, a yellow glaze in places becomes something septic. These pieces are awful and mesmerizing.



Anish Kapoor: Sculptor, Celebrity

Kapoor is known mainly as a sculptor. High profile commissions such as his London 2012 Olympic Orbit tower have made him a household name. His 2009 Royal Academy show was one of the most talked-about exhibitions in recent years; a wax boulder coursed through the RA rooms, while a cannon fired molten wax at the white walls. He is no stranger to red splodges.


RA 2009



Anish Kapoor Lisson Gallery exhibition 2015


But, before all the hubbub, Kapoor was a painter first and foremost – he has had a “long engagement” with the medium. This Lisson show, the artist says, marks a return to these painterly roots. (Though, we must say, these works jut and bulk more than any paintings we’ve ever seen).

Kapoor Themes

Yes, they are hideous. But, eventually, they start to look quite beautiful, too. After the initial confrontation, you start to see, not gore, but life. Kapoor has long been fascinated with red, not just as the colour of blood, but as a colour of power and love and birth. If nothing else, these paintings are huge, sculptural symphonies in red.


Elsewhere, vast hunks of pink onyx sit on the gallery floor. These smooth and rounded marble creations each have a groove, or opening. You start to think of ears, or noses, or navels, or orifices. These sculptures are just as bodily as the fleshy resin, but more discreet.


Theory?

The works, Kapoor said, are not necessarily a response to the contemporary media landscape; to war or violence. “I haven’t tried to make some grand opera and tackle all the world’s problems. One kids oneself when one does that”. Instead, Kapoor tries to leave his work open. “To allow space for joy, or beauty, or death, if people want to see it there. We live in terrible times and the viewer brings that into the gallery.” In other words: beats me! I just made it because I couldn’t not. You decide what it’s about.


Refreshing openness amid chittering gallery gobeldigook.



Lisson Gallery
25 Mar 2015 – 09 May 2015, Monday–Friday, 10am–6pm Saturday, 11am–5pm




Review

Reviews

Visual Arts

Anish Kapoor

Sculpture

Sculpture

Lisson Gallery



You may also like:
  • Lee Ufan 25 March – 9 May 2015

    Lee Ufan, Lisson Gallery

  • Anish Kapoor 25 March – 9 May 2015

    Anish Kapoor, Lisson Gallery ★★★★★

  • Tate Britain Commission 2015: Christina Mackie Tate Britain: Exhibition 24 March – 18 October 2015

    Christina Mackie: Tate Britain Commission 2015

  • Frank Auerbach Head of J.Y.M ll 1984-85 Painting Oil on canvas 660 x 610 mm Courtesy of Javier Baz and Tate Britain

    Frank Auerbach, Tate Britain ★★★★★

  • Lydia Gifford Midday (Nape) 2012 Wood, canvas, chalk, gesso, sand, paint, 143 x 264 x 43 cm

    Lydia Gifford, Laura Bartlett Gallery



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×