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anish kapoor

Anish
Kapoor

Anish Kapoor, a master of form and philosophy, is a British-Indian artist known for his installations and contributions to Conceptual Art. If you’re looking for original Anish Kapoor works for sale or would like to sell, request a complimentary valuation and browse our network’s most in-demand pieces.

Notable series

Shadow II

9 works

Shadow III

4 works

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Biography

Anish Kapoor, a leading figure of contemporary sculpture, has crafted a formidable presence in the art world with his monumental installations and innovative use of materials. Renowned for his ability to manipulate viewer perception and space, Kapoor's works have garnered international acclaim, positioning him as one of the leading figures in Contemporary Art.

Born in Mumbai, India, in 1954, Kapoor's artistic inclination was evident from a young age. He moved to London in the early 1970s to attend the Hornsey College of Art and later the Chelsea School of Art and Design. It was during these educational years that Kapoor's distinctive style began to emerge, rooted in both his cultural heritage and a profound interest in Western philosophical concepts.

A fascination with voids, colour, and the metamorphosis of form defined Kapoor’s artistic development. Initially recognised for his pigment-based sculptures in the 1980s, these early works played with the materiality of pure pigment and its spatial effects. His explorations led to a signature style that employs a rich vocabulary of organic shapes and reflective surfaces, inviting viewers into a contemplative, almost spiritual engagement with his art.

The turn of the millennium saw Kapoor's scale and ambition grow, with the unveiling of iconic public sculptures such as Cloud Gate in Chicago's Millennium Park, affectionately known as ‘The Bean’ for its bean-like shape. The seamless stainless-steel structure reflects and distorts the city's skyline, engaging the public in a dynamic interaction with the sculpture and its surroundings.

Notable influences on Kapoor include Minimalism and artists such as Richard Serra, whose work with industrial materials resonates with Kapoor's own use of steel and stone. Kapoor's work also often references his Indian heritage, particularly in his use of vibrant reds and deep blues, which evoke traditional Hindu symbolism.

Kapoor’s work extends beyond sculpture into the realm of printmaking, as seen in series such as Shadow II and Shadow III. The prints in these series echo the themes in his larger body of work, exploring the interplay of light and shadow and the concept of the void. Through printmaking, Kapoor translates his monumental visions into more intimate formats, maintaining the contemplative and immersive qualities that define his sculptures.

His significant contributions to the art world have been recognised with major exhibitions and accolades, including representing Britain at the 44th Venice Biennale in 1990 and being awarded the prestigious Turner Prize in the same year. His commitment to pushing the boundaries of form and material has earned him a knighthood for services to visual arts in 2013.

Rising to prominence in the 1980s, Kapoor was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize in 1991. Often monumental in scale, his work is characterised by rich pigments and unique forms that explore the concepts of void and sublimity. Kapoor's innovative use of materials such as granite, limestone, marble, pigments, and plaster, allows him to manipulate both the physical space and the viewer's perception, creating immersive and thought-provoking experiences.
In the 1990s, Kapoor began incorporating red wax into his sculptures, a material that has since become a hallmark of his work. The use of red wax evokes powerful imagery associated with blood, human flesh, and transfiguration. Kapoor has expressed a personal connection to the colour red, noting that it represents his homeland of India. This deep, visceral hue imbues his pieces with a sense of life and transformation, adding layers of meaning and emotional depth to his monumental works.
Kapoor's fascination with colour is epitomised by his exclusive rights to use Vantablack, the blackest black pigment known, which absorbs 99.96% of light. This has sparked conversations and controversy in the art world about the ownership and use of materials. Kapoor’s works often play with the viewer's perception, and the use of Vantablack epitomises this distortion by creating spaces that appear to recede indefinitely, challenging the viewer's visual and spatial understanding.

Record prices

All Anish Kapoor's record prices

A roughly hewn semi-translucent alabaster rock with dark grey veins. The edges are left jagged, but the vertical face has been polished perfectly smooth. Out of this face, a concave half-sphere has been carved, again with a perfectly smooth surface. The colour of the half-sphere has a warmer tinge.

Untitled © Anish Kapoor 2003

1. £1.7M for Anish Kapoor's Untitled (2003)

Untitled (2003) achieved Kapoor's current auction record when it sold at Sotheby's London in July 2008, exceeding its high estimate of £1.5 million. This alabaster sculpture, measuring nearly 2 square metres, is the perfect example of Kapoor's mature exploration of the void through translucent stone, and was created the same year Kapoor received his CBE. The translucent quality allows light to penetrate the material, creating an effect where solid stone gains a sense of internal depth and space, challenging our perception of solidity and emptiness. The piece belongs to his significant Alabaster series that began in the late 1990s following Kapoor's collaboration with Italian art dealer Massimo Minini, when they toured excavation sites in Brescia, Carrara, and Volterra to source materials. Kapoor holds a great reverence for traditional materials, but seeks to transform them with modern techniques and concepts. According to the artist himself, these alabaster works contain "a history in the stone," where "through this simple device of excavating the stone, it's just as if the whole narrative sequence is suddenly there."

A reflective hollow mirror sphere, balanced on a flat, square, white plinth. The sphere is open on both sides, allowing the viewer to look through it and see inside it. Its outside and inside reflect different perspectives on the gallery space around it.

Turning The World Upside Down © Anish Kapoor 2011

2. £1.3M for Anish Kapoor's Turning The World Upside Down

Turning The World Upside Down (1998) sold at Sotheby's New York in May 2011, establishing a significant benchmark for Kapoor's reflective metal sculptures. Two years previously, another piece from the edition of three sold at Sotheby’s New York for £957,600. This stainless steel sculpture series represents a crucial development in Kapoor's artistic journey, marking a period when he began experimenting with highly polished surfaces that transform our perception of space rather than simply reflecting it. It stands in direct contrast to Kapoor's void-focused works - rather than drawing attention to empty space, it engages viewers by literally inverting the space around them in infinite detail. The reflective pieces from this period directly influenced Kapoor's most famous public commissions, including Cloud Gate (2004-06) (commonly known as "The Bean") in Chicago's Millennium Park and the various Sky Mirror installations - including a 2001 piece installed outside the Nottingham Playhouse. As Kapoor himself stated: "I wanted to see if it was possible to make a space full of mirror - not a mirrored object, but a space full of mirror" - demonstrating his conceptual shift from creating objects to creating experiences.

A roughly-hewn alabaster rock with jagged edges and one perfectly smooth vertical face. Out of the smooth face, a half-sphere has been carved, the insides of which are mottled gold. The alabaster rock has thick dark grey veins running through its translucent surface.

Untitled © Anish Kapoor 1999

3. £1.2M for Anish Kapoor's Untitled (1999)

This untitled void sculpture sold at Sotheby's New York in November 2007, continuing the pattern of strong market performance for Kapoor's stone works. The open, empty space in the centre of this piece has been painted a smooth gold, in direct contrast with the rough-hewn alabaster of its external form, creating a clear juxtaposition between raw, natural material and the refinement of art. It demonstrates Kapoor’s understanding of material properties and his ability to transform stone into something that appears both ancient and utterly contemporary - Kapoor himself linked the concept of the void with the idea of a timeless infinity. This particular piece exemplifies what Kapoor calls the "non-object" - something that investigates the liminal space between physical presence and immateriality, "something that is present but absent, empty yet full."

4 - 10.

Highest ever Anish Kapoor prices

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Anish Kapoor (b.1954) transformed contemporary sculpture through his signature exploration of form, void, and perception...

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