Anish Kapoor (°1954, Mumbai, India) is a British-Indian sculptor whose work explores perception, materiality, colour and the relationship between physical form and empty space. From intensely pigmented early sculptures to monumental mirrored surfaces and vast architectural installations, Kapoor has developed a visual language in which objects often appear to dissolve, recede or extend beyond their physical boundaries.
Kapoor moved to London in the early 1970s to study art and emerged internationally during the 1980s with sculptural works covered in fields of pure pigment. The idea of the void subsequently became central to his practice, leading to concave forms, reflective surfaces and seemingly bottomless spaces that challenge the viewer's perception of depth and scale. More recently, he has also experimented with extremely light-absorbing materials and increasingly returned to painting.
His career has included some of the most ambitious public sculptures and installations of recent decades. Among his best-known works are Cloud Gate in Chicago, popularly known as “The Bean”, Sky Mirror, Marsyas at Tate Modern and ArcelorMittal Orbit, created for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Kapoor was awarded the Turner Prize in 1991 and was knighted in 2013 for services to the visual arts.
Working between London and Venice, Kapoor continues to investigate the boundaries between sculpture, architecture and the human body. His ability to combine monumental scale with fundamental questions about presence, absence and perception has made his work immediately recognizable and established him as a major figure in contemporary sculpture.