New Delhi: Mumbai-born British artist Anish
Kapoor, known for his phenomenally huge and awe-inspiring
public art sculptures, is now set to showcase for the first
time in India.
Kapoor, whose sculptures often sell for millions and who
has designed the about Rs 115 crore ArcelorMittal Orbit for
the 2012 Olympic Park in London, will also visit India, which
he left for the UK in the 1970s and attend the retrospective
as well as the forthcoming Indian Art Summit in the capital in
January.
"This is the biggest collection of Anish Kapoor`s work to
be seen outside UK. His works provide intellectual stimulation
and visual delight. It is a proud moment in our cultural
relationship with India," Ruth Gee, Regional Director, British
Council, told reporters here today.
Touted as the largest exhibition ever to be developed on
his works, the exhibits featuring a selection of 25 sculptures
and installations spanning from his early pigment-based
sculptures of the 1980s to the recent wax installations
collected from different parts of the world, would be shown in
Delhi and Mumbai over a period of three months from the end of
November.
The British Council is collaborating with the Ministry of
Culture, the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi, UK`s
Lisson Gallery and luxury brand Louis Vuitton in bringing the
London-based artist`s work to the country.
"We hope to get people talking in India. Anish Kapoor is
a controversial and internationally known artist... who has
been selected to represent the London Olympics," said Gee.
Both the exhibitions at the renovated NGMA new gallery --
from November 27 -- and at Mehboob film studios in Bandra,
Mumbai -- from November 29 will feature the recent record
breaking works of the artist at the Royal Academy in London
that attracted over 275,000 visitors in less than three
months.
"While the Picasso exhibition was a feat in itself. This
exhibition will set another benchmark and phenomenal
viewership from Indians," said Rajeev Lochan, Director, NGMA.
The Gallery had put up a retrospective of modernist painter
Pablo Picasso in 2001.
Kapoor, who has won the Turner Prize, has created a giant
sculpture Cloud Gate in Chicago`s Millennium Park and has
exhibited extensively across the world.
"Anish Kapoor`s works have simple form and evoke intense
feelings," said Jawahar Sircar, Union Secretary of Culture
adding that there would be more reciprocal exchanges of
artists between India and UK in the coming years.
India and the UK had earlier this year signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at boosting cultural
exchanges over the next five years.
-PTI
