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'One of art's functions is to make us see the world with fresh eyes and in this Kapoor succeeds triumphantly. This is art that cast a spell of rare enchantment, transforming a walk in the park into something rich and strange' The Daily Telegraph
In a groundbreaking partnership, The Royal Parks and the Serpentine Gallery present a major exhibition of outdoor sculptures by internationally acclaimed London-based artist Anish Kapoor. Showcasing a series of the artist’s most important stainless-steel works, which have never previously been shown together in London, the exhibition is the first contemporary sculpture project to be sited in Kensington Gardens for over 25 years.
In this particular setting, Kapoor’s works play with the visitor’s desire to get close to them: while Sky Mirror, Red, 2007, is placed in Kensington Gardens’ Round Pond, appearing to float on the water, Sky Mirror, 2006, is viewed across the Gardens’ Long Water, seeming barely to touch the ground. Non-Object (Spire), 2007, seems to vanish into thin air, while C-Curve, 2007, causes the visitor to pause and contemplate the often-overlooked formality of Kensington Gardens’ broad avenues, designed by Charles Bridgeman. This sculpture engages viewers directly, presenting their distorted and inverted reflections; in this way we become completers of the work, which is transformed at that moment from an object to a symbolic space.
Anish Kapoor was born in Bombay in 1954 and has lived in London since the early 1970s when he studied at Hornsey College of Art and Chelsea School of Art and Design. Over the past twenty years he has exhibited extensively in London and worldwide. His solo shows have included Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2009; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, 2008; Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2007; Kunsthaus Bregenz, 2003; Hayward Gallery, London, 1998 and Tate Gallery, London, 1990.
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Press coverage
Richard Cork on Anish Kapoor, Kensington Gardens, Financial Times, Tuesday 5 October 2010
Anish Kapoor: Turning the World Upside Down, Kensington Gardens - review, The Independent, Tuesday 19 October 2010
Exhibition review: Anish Kapoor, Turning the World Upside Down, New Statesman, Wednesday 20 October 2010
Season of mists, and mellow fruitfulness..., World Architecture News, Monday 25 October 2010
See Yourself Reflected, Guardian Science blog, Tuesday 16 November 2010
Anish Kapoor in pictures, The Guardian, Monday 27 November 2010
Buy the Anish Kapoor: Turning The World Upside Down exhibition catalogue
The exhibition is organised by The Royal Parks and the Serpentine Gallery and is generously supported by Lisson Gallery, Gladstone Gallery and anonymous donors. It is part of the Serpentine Gallery’s 40th anniversary exhibition programme and initiates a new arts strategy by The Royal Parks.
Anish Kapoor
Non-Object (Spire) 2007
Installation view Kensington Gardens, London
(28 September 2010 – 13 March 2011)
© 2010 Tim Mitchell
Anish Kapoor
Sky Mirror, Red 2007
Installation view Kensington Gardens, London
(28 September 2010 – 13 March 2011)
© 2010 Dave Morgan
Anish Kapoor
Sky Mirror 2006
Installation view Kensington Gardens, London
(28 September 2010 – 13 March 2011)
© 2010 Angus Miller
Anish Kapoor
C-Curve 2007
Installation view Kensington Gardens, London
(28 September 2010 – 13 March 2011)
© 2010 Dave Morgan
