There is more to this world than we can see, a vaster horizon than we can contemplate, and hidden voids beyond our fields of vision. That’s according to Anish Kapoor, who continues his lifelong fascination with emptiness and contemplation with a major exhibition project at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, Italy. The Indian artist cites great thinkers from Plato to Dante as sharing his interest in humans’ unease with what he describes as the “absence of content”; removing material is at the core (no pun intended) of his Descension show.
The titular centrepiece, which pulls the visitor towards it with an irresistible primal energy, is an aptly theatrical work set up in the floor of the stalls area of the former playhouse. It continues Kapoor’s 1992 work Descent into Limbo — both pieces act to destabilise the viewer by taking the very floor out from under them, dragging them downwards to an unknowable place beyond. Other works in this show include stone sculptures, with highly-refined sections removed to encourage meditations on time and permanence, and in their choice of colour and material draw connections with the organic. Descension remains in situ until 5 September.
Monochrome (Black / Cobalt Blue), 2015
Vetroresina e pittura
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Fibreglass and paint
187 x 187 x 40 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Descension, 2015
Acciaio, acqua, motore |
Steel, water, motor
500 x 500 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Untitled, 2015
Alabastro
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Alabaster
32,5 x 130 x 96 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Untitled, 1993-2015
Vetroresina e pigmento |
Fibreglass and pigment
450 x 700 x 280 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Veduta della mostra ‘Descension’ | Exhibition view ‘Descension’
GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano, 2015
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Endless Column, 1992
Vetroresina e pigmento |
Fibreglass and pigment
400 x 60 x 60 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Descension, 2015
Acciaio, acqua, motore |
Steel, water, motor
500 x 500 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Veduta della mostra ‘Descension’ | Exhibition view ‘Descension’
GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano, 2015
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Monochrome (Silver / Oriental Blue), 2015
Vetroresina e pittura
|
Fibreglass and paint
187 x 187 x 40 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Untitled, 2014
Acrilico |
Acrylic
50 x 40 x 40 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Turning Water into Mirror, Blood into Sky, 2014
acciaio, acqua e motore
|
steel, water and motor
53 x 80 x 80 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Untitled, 2015
Alabastro
|
Alabaster
67 x 55 x 43,5 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Untitled (Orange), 2015
Acciaio inossidabile e smalto
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Stainless steel and lacquer
139 x 139 x 22 cm
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
Veduta della mostra ‘Descension’ | Exhibition view ‘Descension’
GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano, 2015
Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
Photo, Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO
