anish kapoor’s black whirlpool endlessly spins at galleria continua
(above) descension, 2015
steel, water, motor
/ 500 x 500 cm
all images courtesy the artist and galleria continua, san gimignano / beijing / les moulins
all photos by ela bialkowska, okno studio
anish kapoor: descension
galleria continua, san gimignano
now through september 5, 2015
anish kapoor returns to italy with ‘descension’, infilling san gimignano’s galleria continua with specially conceived installations and artworks for the gallery’s vast former cinema and theater space. amongst a series of new sculptures in alabaster, a collection of work in stainless steel and large-scale, fiberglass interventions throughout, is the installation in the stalls area, ‘descension’, from which the exhibition takes its name. previously presented during the kochi-muziris biennale in india, the seemingly black bottomless hole of dark water ceaselessly spins down into the floor, dragging the viewer into its menacing abyss.
descension, 2015
through its endless progression downwards into the theater floor, ‘descension’ destabilizes the viewer’s perception of the earth as a solid element and embodies kapoor’s exploration into non-objects as artworks. in its constant state of flux and movement, the installation presents the visitor with a sharp a thrust downwards towards a totally unknowable interior.
in regards to the relationship between fullness and the void, kapoor says, ‘I have always thought of it (the void) … as a transitional space, an in-between space. it’s very much to do with time. I have always been interested as an artist in that very first moment of creativity where everything is possible and nothing has actually happened. it’s a space of becoming.’
descension, 2015
kapoor’s work extends the concept of sculpture in art. the exhibition features a series of new sculptures in alabaster, in which a highly refined section has been carefully carved out from the volume. inviting the viewer to reflect upon the mysteries of time buried within their form, these untitled stone masses simultaneously convey a sense of eternity, while their translucent qualities reinforce the sense of transition from painting to sculpture.
installation view of ‘descension’ at galleria continua
video courtesy of GALLERIACONTINUA
stainless steel sculptures, painted fiberglass objects mounted on the wall and huge interventions that tower above visitors are viewable throughout galleria continua, each enforcing kapoor’s interest in the human being and self-awareness, on the mind and the experience of the things surrounding it, and on the universality of time and space.
installation view of the exhibition ‘descension’ at galleria continua, san gimignano
monochrome (black / cobalt blue), 2015
fibreglass and paint
/ 187 x 187 x 40 cm
monochrome (silver / oriental blue), 2015
fibreglass and paint
/ 187 x 187 x 40 cm
untitled, 2015
stainless steel
/ 140 x 140 x 22 cm
untitled, 2015
stainless steel
/ 140 x 140 x 22 cm
installation view of the exhibition ‘descension’ at galleria continua, san gimignano
untitled, 2015
alabaster
/ 32,5 x 130 x 96 cm
untitled, 2015
alabaster
/ 32,5 x 130 x 96 cm
ANISH KAPOOR (26)
Jun 20, 2018
Mar 05, 2018
May 04, 2017
Feb 17, 2017
Dec 08, 2016GALLERIA CONTINUA (10)
Feb 03, 2021
Oct 11, 2020
Feb 09, 2020
Aug 27, 2019
Jul 06, 2019PRODUCT LIBRARY
Jun 01, 2021
May 25, 2021
May 20, 2021
May 18, 2021
The artwork “descension” is a modification of the art work Vortex of the young German Artist Martin Werthmann build in 2012 and last shown in the south of france in 2014: https://youtu.be/efuT7y-sALc and http://youtu.be/Glj3Y9uYZf4
I still think the version of Martin Werthmann is the more exciting one, the observer is able to see the vortex from inside.
Can we start a list of those (inane celebrities and such) whom we’d like to push into “Descension” with hopes they’ll never return?!