Anish Kapoor at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney

Anish Kapoor is one of the most celebrated artists working today and has created some of the world’s most ambitious and recognisable contemporary artworks. This unique exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) running from 20 December 2012 until 1 April 2013, will be Kapoor’s first major presentation of his work in Australia, and includes works from the early stages of his career to the present day. It explores the artist’s continual experimentation across a variety of materials including clay, plastic, pigment, steel and wax to create works of great visual power and emotional impact.

Highlights include one of the artist’s most ambitious works for a gallery, Memory (2008). In the work’s first presentation in the Southern Hemisphere, Memory completely fills the MCA ’s spacious Level 3 Gallery as if squeezed between the white walls. Viewers experience the rust-coloured bulbous structure from several angles including a window that looks into the cavernous interior space. By restricting the ability to view the whole work from a single point, Kapoor challenges the public to imagine the object in its entirety by piecing together memories of the work from different locations.

The exhibition also comprises a selection of the early works that first brought Anish Kapoor to prominence. Created following a short trip to India, 1000 Names (1979–80) consists of primary coloured geometric forms produced using brightly coloured powdered pigments placed on the floor or situated on the wall.

Another highlight is Void (1989), a large concave shape coated in a deep blue pigment that toys with perception. The shape changes from a convex to a concave form depending on where the viewer is situated, whilst the colour of the piece disrupts the ability to determine the object’s true proportions.

This major solo exhibition spread across two floors of the MCA is part of the Sydney International Art Series, bringing the world’s outstanding exhibitions to Australia.

Anish Kapoor, 20 December 2012 until 1 April 2013, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), 140 George Street Sydney, NSW NSW 2000, Australia. www.mca.com.au

Credits:

1. Memory, 2008, © Anish Kapoor, Australia. Installation view, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, 2009. Image courtesy the artist and Deutsche Guggenheim © the artist Photograph: Mathias Schormann.
2. 1000 Names, 1979, © Anish Kapoor, Australia. © Anish Kapoor. Image courtesy and © the artist.
3. Void, 1989, © Anish Kapoor, Australia. Image courtesy and © the artist Photograph: Dave Morgan
4. My Red Homeland, 2003, © Anish Kapoor, Australia. Installation view, Kunsthaus Bregenz, 2003. Image courtesy and © the artist Photograph: Nic Tenwiggenhorn