Anish Kapoor In Venice - La Biennale di Venezia
Anish Kapoor is the first British artist to be honoured with a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia and Palazzo Manfrin in Venice running alongside the 59th La Biennale di Venezia
Running alongside the 59th La Biennale di Venezia (The Venice Biennale), Anish Kapoor takes over Gallerie dell’Accademia and Palazzo Manfrin for an impressive two-part exhibition titled ‘Anish Kapoor in Venice’. The locations showcase retrospective elements with never-before-seen works. The extensive solo show includes around 60 works and is the first time a British artist has been honoured with a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia. It also celebrates the Anish Kapoor Foundation’s acquisition of the beautiful 18th-century Palazzo Manfrin, a location that has remained empty for many years.
Coverage of the exhibition’s Palazzo Manfrin location can be seen in the video above and photography below. Guests are greeted by the enormous installation ‘Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto (2022)’, a gravity-defying mountain that descends from the ceiling, set against the backdrop of classical columns and stonework. Visitors are invited to explore a series of rooms that feature works from the artist’s career, including ‘Turning Water Into Mirror, Blood into Sky (2003)’ - a piece that ‘bends’ blood red liquid, creating a curved mirror that reflects the sky, ‘Destierro (2017) - tonnes of earth sprayed with a vivid red pigment appearing to be moved by a contrasting blue excavator intended to represent the displacement of people around the world.
Other works of note include ‘Symphony for a Beloved Sun (2013)’ - an expansive space featuring two crossing conveyor belts and a giant, dark sun-like red disk hovering above the ever-growing heaps of wax splodges. The work recalls the industrialized murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. ‘Split In Two Like a Fish For Frying (2022)’ - a provoking piece; its form is divided by a deep crevice shaped like a vulva, around the opening of which smears and globs of blood-coloured wax and silicon lie. This piece, like many others in the collection, references or take inspiration from the human body, blood and gore. A personal favourite is a room that featured ‘Sky Below (2022)’, ‘Painting ƃuᴉʇuᴉɐd (2021)’ and, ‘mirror ɹoɹɹᴉɯ (2017)’ each of the curved mirrored works distorting life and changing the surroundings, from flipping the room and individual’s reflections to manipulating colour, light and visibility.
The two exhibitions run between April 20 – October 9 2022 at Gallerie dell’Accademia and Palazzo Manfrin.