Anish Kapoor reopens the renovated Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery in London

The artist exhibits a series of works never before seen in the United Kingdom on the occasion of the reopening of the spectacular mansion, designed in the nineteenth century by the architect and interior designer Sir John Sloane.

Works by Anish Kapoor in one of the exhibition rooms. From thespaces.com

Anish Kapoor’s works always transport us to other regions of space and time. The artist plays with his surroundings, shapes them, reinterprets them and invites us to lose ourselves in them. And at the same time, he leads us to reflect on entity/identity itself and on the reality of our existence. Kapoor is one of the most prestigious contemporary artists on the international scene; no one better than he to inaugurate the renovated Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery. The magnificent mansion, the work of Sir John Sloane, opens its doors to the public once more: the building closed three years ago for a complete refurbishment. Today, visitors can again walk through its spectacular spaces and enjoy the elegance of the interiors created by Sloane, architect and interior designer. To its intrinsic interest is now added a new space for contemporary art exhibitions, the Pitzhanger Gallery. The gallery begins its journey with an exhibition of the latest works created by the Mumbai-born artist.

Glisten (Clear/Red to Gold Satin), by Anish Kapoor. 2018. From pitzhanger.org.uk

The exhibition brings together a series of pieces that reflect, distort and reinterpret the surrounding reality. The use of reflective surfaces is habitual in Kapoor’s work, as he once again unsettles our perception and turns the surroundings into the place that lies “through the looking glass.” In the two rooms that house the show, the pieces reflect one another, creating different illusions (distortion, transparency, trompe l’oeil) that integrate visual perception into the plastic form of the works themselves. The presence of Kapoor’s works is also a tribute to Sir John Sloane, who likewise habitually integrated mirrors into his projects. To the English architect we owe buildings as emblematic as the Bank of England and Pitzhanger Manor itself, which he designed and built to display his talent as an architect and as a showcase for his work. The refurbishment has restored to the building and its interiors the appearance they had when Sloane completed his original design; today it shines with a light of its own, becoming a special place where the art and architecture of different eras coexist in harmony.

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