Minimalist sculptor and printmaker Anish Kapoor was born in Bombay, India in 1954, but after study in London, England, has lived there since 1982. His art education includes the Hornsey College of Art, 1973-1977, and Chelsea School of Art, 1977-1978, both in London.
He taught at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1979. Kapoor was artist-in-residence at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, England, in 1982. His awards include the Premio Duemila at the Venice Biennale, 1990; the Turner Award, 1991; and an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Leeds, England, 1994.
Among his many public sculptures is the centerpiece at Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois, named Cloud Gate. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed The Bean because of its shape. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It measures 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (100 t; 98 long tons).
Kapoor’s design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture’s surface reflects and distorts the city’s skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate’s 12-foot (3.7 m) high arch. On the underside is the “omphalos” (Greek for “navel”), a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor’s artistic themes, and it is popular with tourists as a photo-taking opportunity for its unique reflective properties.
Kapoor’s one-man exhibitions include:
1996
The XXIII Bienal Internacional de São Paulo; Anish Kapoor Sculptures, Aboa Vetus & Ars New, Turku, Finlândia; Anish Kapoor, Two Sculptures, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, England; Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy; Gourd Project 1993-95, Freddie Fong Contemporary Art, San Francisco, USA.
1995/96
Prada Milanoarte, Milão, Italy; Lisson Gallery, London, England.
1995
Anish Kapoor, DePont Foundation, Tillburg Nishimura Gallery, Tokio, Japan.
1994
Mala Galerija, Moderna Galerija Ljubljana, Museum of Modern Art, Liubliana, Slovenia; Echo, Kohji Ogura Gallery, in cooperation with Lisson Gallery Nagoya, Japan.
1993
Lisson Gallery, London, England; Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel; Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA.
1992/93
Traveling exhibition in four places: San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, USA; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, USA; The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada; The Power Plat, Toronto, Canada.
1992
Galeria Soledad, Lorenzo, Madrid, Spain; Stuart Regen Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.
1991
Palacio de Velazquez, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; Kunstverein Hannover, Germany; The Sixth Japan Ushimado International Art Festival, Ushimado, Japan; Anish Kapoor & Ban Chiang, Feuerle Gallery, Kölní.
1990/91
Anish Kapoor Drawings, Tate Gallery, London, England; Le Magasin, Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France, organized in cooperation with The Bristsh Council
1990
XLIV Biennale di Venezia, British Pavillion, Venice, Italy; Drawings, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA.
1989/90
Void Field, Lisson Gallery, London, England.
1989
Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA; Kohji Ogura Gallery, Nagoya, Japan.
1988
Lisson Gallery, London, England.
1987
Anish Kapoor: Works on Paper 1975-1987, Ray Hughes Gallery, Sidney, Australia, exhibition traveled to MOMA, Brisbane, Australia.
1986
Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway; Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA; Anish Kapoor: Recent Sculpture and Drawings, University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
1985
Lisson Gallery, London, England; Kunsthalle, Basil, Switerzaland, exhibition traveled to Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
1984
Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA.
1983
Galerie ‘t Venster, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, England, exhibition traveled to Le Nouveau Musée Villeurbanne, Lyon, France; Lisson Gallery, London, England.
1982
Lisson Gallery, London, England; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, England.
1981
Coracle Press, London, England.
1980
Patrice Alexandre, Paris, France.
Sources include:
wikipedia
Biography from the Archives of AskART