{"id":67328,"date":"2026-09-04T14:09:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=67328"},"modified":"2026-09-04T14:10:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:10:19","slug":"the-boundless-potential-of-space-anish-kapoor-s-installations-at-hayward-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/the-boundless-potential-of-space-anish-kapoor-s-installations-at-hayward-gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"The Boundless Potential of Space: Anish Kapoor\u2019s Installations at Hayward Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by George Darell<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo by Jillian Edelstein<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This dialogue began in 1998, when Hayward Gallery presented Kapoor\u2019s first major retrospective in the UK. Twenty-eight years later, his works once again occupy the gallery\u2019s spaces and terraces, reshaping our perceptions of space and time, and our sense of presence within them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition is curated by Ralph Rugoff, Artistic Director of Hayward Gallery and curator of the 58th Venice Biennale (2019). Conceived as a continuous journey, it offers a fresh perspective on Kapoor\u2019s work in each space, gradually revealing how the pieces interact with the viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the Object<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For more than forty years, Anish Kapoor has explored how space changes human perception and how perception, in turn, changes space itself. His practice cannot be reduced to a single technique or material. From black voids to seemingly boundless mirrored surfaces, Kapoor\u2019s works engage with what he calls the \u201cspace of the object\u201d, prompting viewers to look more closely and reconsider how they perceive their surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stone, steel, wax, silicone, resin, pigment and mirrored surfaces provide starting points for exploring more complex subjects: the limits of the visible, physical experience and states that resist rational explanation. Sometimes, what matters most lies beyond <\/strong>the surface of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matter as Metaphor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto, 2022.<\/em> Photo by Attilio Maranzano<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of the new exhibition are three large-scale installations, each responding to the architecture of Hayward Gallery in its own way. A gigantic inflatable PVC membrane fills the first room, challenging viewers\u2019 sense of scale and their own significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second new work, a dark, mountainous threshold rises against a red landscape in the upper gallery. The third key installation is Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto<\/em> (2022). This monumental form appears to defy gravity, descending from the ceiling and hovering just a few centimetres above the floor. Its emotional power reflects Kapoor\u2019s interest in the nature of the sublime, while its scale elicits an almost physical response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking across a wide range of scales and boldly experimenting with materials, Kapoor takes viewers on a journey of perception that touches on existential questions and reveals unexpected connections between experiences of the sublime and extreme disgust, the spiritual and the physical,\u201d Ralph Rugoff noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Lies \u00abBeyond\u00bb<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Void Pavilion VI, 2018.\u00a0Photo by Nobutada Omote<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Descent into Limbo, 1992.\u00a0Photo by Filipe Braga<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Descent into Limbo, 1992-2016, DACS, 2026<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tsunami, 2018. Photo by Dave Morgan<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A separate section of the exhibition explores optical illusions. Among the works are sculptures coated in Vantablack, a material so black that three-dimensional forms appear almost flat and space seems stripped of depth. On Hayward Gallery\u2019s outdoor terraces, this experience continues with large-scale sculptures in mirror-polished steel, creating a sense of both discovery and disorientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition also features paintings and sculptures created over the past decade. Made from silicone, resin and pigment, they evoke the human body and its internal organs. These works elicit instinctive and psychological responses, inviting us to consider what it means to live in an age when images of violence have become part of everyday visual culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Be Continued\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Blinded by Eyes, Butchered by Birth, 2024, DACS, 2026<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An illustrated catalogue has been published to accompany the exhibition, featuring contributions from psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva and art historians Nancy Spector and Sandhini Poddar, alongside an in-depth interview with curator Ralph Rugoff. A limited-edition gicl\u00e9e print signed by the artist also marks the occasion. One of Kapoor\u2019s recent gouache drawings, The Dark<\/em> (2026), revisits his iconic motif: the void as a soft, sensual presence shimmering with all the colours of the rainbow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exhibition Listing Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anish Kapoor <\/p>\n\n\n\n

16 Jun 2026 \u2013 18 Oct 2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayward Gallery opening hours:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tue \u2013 Fri, 10am \u2013 6pm <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sat, 10am \u2013 8pm <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sun, 10am \u2013 6pm <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A major exhibition of Anish Kapoor\u2019s work is on display at Hayward Gallery until 18 October 2026. Part of Southbank Centre\u2019s 75th-anniversary programme, the exhibition marks a symbolic return to a gallery that played an important role in the artist\u2019s career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":67329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-67328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67338,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67328\/revisions\/67338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67328"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=67328"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=67328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}