Anish Kapoor

Donated by the artist

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the catalogue illustration fails to fully convey the concave nature of the work, apparent in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition.
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Anish Kapoor's stunning Untitled manifests all the pioneering ingenuity in material and spatial possibilities that characterise the very best output of this world renowned sculptor.  This beautifully polished reflective material broadcasts a visual and material weightlessness, with nothing existing within the circle other than the remnants of reflection. From the very first experience of this object, Untitled unites those dualities that have become synonymous with Kapoor's seminal canon: presence versus absence; infinity versus illusion; and solidity versus intangibility.

The circular metallic abyss of Untitled not only presents a panoramic vision of the space around it, but also facilitates an exceptional creative alchemy. Although at certain distances the visual information contained within Untitled is readily discernable, as variously inverted and distorted echoes of that which is in front of it, these reflection are neither static nor predictable. Its subtly concave shape and highly polished surface forge a unique prism that seems to liquefy all imagery captured within it. As the viewer's perspective changes, these layers of reflection undergo sudden metamorphosis into total fragmentation, providing an unprecedented visual experience of constant abstract and intangible flux.

This ungraspable effect fascinates Kapoor, as he has explained: 'The interesting thing about a polished surface to me is that when it is really perfect enough something happens  - it literally ceases to be physical; it levitates; it does something else, especially on concave surfaces' (the artist in: Exhibition Catalogue, Boston, ICA, Anish Kapoor, 2008, p. 53). When standing in front of Untitled, the viewer participates in the work itself: events in our viewing experience become ever changing multiplied events within the realm of the object during our unique encounter. With Untitled, Kapoor has conceived of an infinite 'new space' that includes the viewer, stating: "In a painting the space is beyond the picture plane, but in the mirrored voids it is in front of the object and includes the viewer. It's the contemporary equivalent of the sublime, which is to do with the self – its presence, absence or loss. According to the Kantian idea, the sublime is dangerous because it induces vertigo – you might fall into the abyss and be lost forever. In these sculptures you lose yourself in the infinite" (the artist in an interview with Sarah Kent in: Royal Academy of Arts Magazine, Autumn 2009, No. 104, p. 43).