I thought I'd share this article I wrote last year.***************************************************************
I am going to this exhibition with an empty stomach and a developing varicosity. Anish Kapoor's London exhibition is drawing a mile long queue that a sandwich and a portable ottoman could have been perfect company. Perhaps coming on a Saturday doesn't really help as the flock of art enthusiasts crowd the Annenberg courtyard of the Royal Academy of Arts forming a looping line. This exhibition is from the 26th of December until the 11th of December occupying the main galleries of the Academy.
To while the time of waiting, you have the glistening spheres,
Tall Tree and The Eye (2009) that's made of steel balls and carbon steel to warp away boredom. I heard a French accent in the outset explaining his take on the sculpture: "This is like a mirror to architectural soul". With the mirror-polished spheres, it disorientates and distorts images challenging the notion of space and forms. An hour later, I'm only halfway the box-office.
Tall Tree and The Eye
Anish Kapoor, the Premio Duemila and Turner Prize awardee, has gained international acclaim as one of the most influential and significant artists of his generation. At the Academy, he is exhibiting a wide-ranging body of works from his early pigment pieces to new sculptures. In this exhibition, his materials include pigments, stainless steel, plaster, fibreglass, wax and oil- based paint. Opening the collection is the
Hive (2009) which occupies the front gallery with its huge bent steel trying to confront, enclose and make one uncomfortable with its imposing structure.
In conversation with Homi K. Bhabra in 1998, Anish Kapoor mentioned that it's his role as an artist to bring expression but not to be expressive. Discernibly, it is amazing how the young and old engage themselves with the pieces. The
Non-objects (2008-09) collection creates a playful optical illusion drawing smiles from all ages. The trickery created by varying forms and formlessness warrants a second look (or more) like that of
Yellow (1999) and
When I Am Pregnant (1992). A man next to me mumbled, "It hurts my eyes trying to follow the curves and to maintain focus". The
Slug (2009) is an interesting piece brandishing tension between desire and repulsion while
Greyman Cries, Shaman Dies, Billowing Smoke, Beauty Evoked (2008-09) is a group of collections depicting ruins and architectural foundation.
The magnitude of
Svayambh (2007) is impressive as it covers five galleries of the rear enfilade at the Royal Academy. The vast block of red wax moves languidly, almost imperceptibly, along tracks. The soft and hard concepts as well as the assault to the senses are evident. It tenders many associations in meanings; innumerable interpretations.
The rest of the collections follow a thematic scheme. Looking at most of the items on display, it affords a strong sense of distortion and clarity; affectation and guilelessness. Also, it is a celebration of theatrical extravaganza verging into ambivalence of conveyed meanings. It caters to personal evocation and overt interaction, something that most galleries do not necessarily afford people of varying ages.
This experience is personal.
