Anish Kapoor

★★☆☆☆

On until 18 October 2026

One has to pity Anish Kapoor. He’s spent a lifetime pursuing an alchemy of voids. He’s hung tonnes of steel from ceilings that cry for reinforcement, becoming in so doing beholden to steel magnates. He’s dreamt of cutting through mountain ridges. He’s polished mirrors until they gave him the squint, placing him solo in the centre of his creation.

Many of the sculptor’s grandest proposals don’t get beyond the maquette, however, and with good reason. This Hayward salvo is one such dead end IRL. Kapoor’s forms seem here restrained by visitor capacity concerns. Their profound substance, if any, hides in a glibly colour-coordinated Instagram aesthetic.

Fibreglass mountains hang from the ceiling, lacerations and outgrowths mark canvases and pedestals. Polished steel and Vanta black abound. Yet nothing here overwhelms the senses. Is this the abyss Kapoor dreams we dream of? If so, pity the artist: Kaspar David Friedrich got to it in a single canvas.


notes and notices are short and curt exhibition reviews. Read more:

Aziza Kadyri, the Uzbekistan pavilion in Venice ★★★★☆

Aziza Kadyri

Don't Miss the Cue

★★★★☆

This dissonance might be intentional. If it isn’t, so much for the better.

Geumhyung Jeong, Under Construction at ICA ★☆☆☆☆

Geumhyung Jeong

Under Construction

★☆☆☆☆

This tech-optimism might have entertained gallery-goers twenty years ago.

Vlatka Horvat, The Croatian Pavilion in Venice ★★☆☆☆

Vlatka Horvat

By the Means at Hand

★★☆☆☆

This closed circulation project speaks to and agrees with only itself.

Co Westerik, Centenary at Sadie Coles HQ ★★★☆☆

Co Westerik

Centenary

★★★★☆

Westerik catches his figures in deep contemplation in front of the mirror, in the gynaecologist’s chair, or even mid-orgy.

The last train after the last train at Public ★★★☆☆

The last train after the last train

★★★☆☆

The failed magic tricks in Lyndon Barrois Jr.’s canvases would hang in the final scene of Chinese Roulette in which everyone turns against everyone.

Open Group, The Polish pavilion in Venice ★★★☆☆

Open Group

Repeat After Me II

★★★☆☆

The applause was rapturous. A sense of tragedy, however, was altogether missing.

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