Anish Kapoor

Anish Kapoor (b. 1954, Mumbai) is a highly influential British-Indian sculptor known for his innovative exploration of form, material and perception. Kapoor rose to prominence in the 1980s with site-specific sculptures that combine Modernist minimalism with spiritual and sensory depth. He is renowned for his manipulation of space, voids and reflective surfaces, often creating works that challenge perception and evoke meditative experiences.

 

Kapoor's early works employed natural materials like granite, marble and pigment, but his later pieces incorporated industrial materials such as stainless steel, fiberglass and PVC. Notable works include Cloud Gate (2004), a mirrored stainless-steel sculpture in Chicago and Sky Mirror (2006), a concave reflective installation in New York. Kapoor’s monumental works, such as Marsyas (2002) at Tate Modern and Leviathan (2011) at the Grand Palais in Paris, integrate sculpture with architecture, transforming their environments.

 

Kapoor has exhibited internationally in major institutions such as the Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum and Palace of Versailles. He represented Britain at the 1990 Venice Biennale, winning the Premio Duemila Prize and received the Turner Prize in 1991. Honors include the Praemium Imperiale (2011) and Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2011). Kapoor continues to live and work in London and Venice, producing work that engages themes of light, perspective and negative space.