Something of an unconventional choice for the Royal Academy of Arts, this major exhibition takes you on a 'journey' through the works of Anish Kapoor since the 1980s. Visitors to this year's Brighton Festival, curated by Kapoor, will have already seen some of his latest works included here. Centre stage is the site specific piece, Svayambh, which roughly translates as "shaped by its own energy" in Sanskrit. This monumental piece occupying five galleries and exhibited twice before - at the Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nantes and at the Haus der Kunst, Munich - evolves as the red wax ("a huge lump of stuff," Anish Kapoor) pushes itself slowly through a series of arched doorways. The trick here is that every time you see it, it changes, becoming something new. Shooting into the Corner is another recent work, again returning to the red colour pigment of which the artist is so fond. This time pellets of red wax are fired from a cannon into the corner of the gallery, creating a large 'bang' each time it fires. Also on display are his early pigment sculptures from the 1980s, another of Kapoor's fascinations, this one with the physical make-up of paint which can be seen as "both stuff and not stuff - or something 'other'," the artist explains. This is the first major Anish Kapoor exhibition in London since he showed at the Hayward 15 years ago and a lot has changed since then. It's about time we caught up with him on his journey.
(Image: Anish Kapoor - Svayambh, 2007. Photo by: Cecile Clos, Nantes. Installation: Musee des Beaux-Arts de Nantes)
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