Anish Kapoor is a leading contemporary sculptor known for exploring negative space with geometric shapes, reflections, and curves. He experiments with materials like stone, wax, cement, earth, and steel to create innovative, thought-provoking works.
In the early 1990s, Kapoor began to move away from traditional materials like stone and resin, and started experimenting with new mediums like steel and reflective surfaces. Since then, he has integrated his sculptures into the environment itself, creating a unique interaction between the artwork and the surrounding space.
The use of reflective surfaces in Kapoor’s work carries strong symbolism. The so-called "mirrors" are not conventional mirrors, but are actually created from polished stainless steel, polished to the point of reflecting the environment as a mirror would. In the pieces where he uses this material and technique, both the environment and the spectator become part of the artwork itself, inviting a more introspective experience.
Through the reflection, the sculpture not only mirrors the observer’s image, but also incorporates it into the piece, transcending the three-dimensional and making the viewer’s perception an active part of the artistic process.
An important aspect of Kapoor’s work is his emphasis on emptiness and his interest in the transformation of materials. The reflection distorts and modifies both the environment and the viewer’s perception. Light, color, and geometric shapes blend with the space, altering the way the viewer perceives their surroundings.
One of his best-known works is Cloud Gate (2004), a monumental polished steel sculpture whose smooth surfaces appear to twist and stretch over concrete, reflecting the city of Chicago and its skyscrapers. Reflecting something that belongs to the world we know, it creates an image that is both familiar and yet distorted, different in a way.
Random Triangle Mirror (2018), a piece currently exhibited at the Villazan Gallery, uses polished stainless steel triangles that function as irregular mirrors. These surfaces distort and fragment reflections, creating a visual experience that is both disorienting and ever-changing. The work plays with shape, space, and perception, inviting the viewer to question both the visual and the conceptual aspects, and reconsider their relationship with the environment.
In this work, the triangle— a geometric shape traditionally symbolizing balance— is presented in a distorted way, breaking the sense of order. The randomness of the reflections and the use of distorting surfaces turn the experience into something dynamic and destabilizing. This contradiction between order and chaos is a constant in Kapoor’s works, where what seems safe and fixed is altered by the material and form.
The same happens in works like “Double Vertigo” (2012), an installation made of two long, curved, concave mirrors made of stainless steel. The viewer loses their sense of balance as their perception of reality is distorted, creating a feeling of emotional and physical instability.
The viewer loses their sense of balance as their perception of reality is distorted, creating a feeling of emotional and physical instability.
“Since the 15th or 16th century, concave mirrors were used in science, but they were never part of art, and I’ve worked with them for many years because they do very strange things. First of all, they turn the world upside down, and of course, this has to do with my interest in the inverted form,” explains Anish Kapoor.
The first Sky Mirror (2001) by Kapoor is a public sculpture consisting of a six-meter-diameter polished stainless steel concave plate, tilted upwards to face the sky. Reflecting the sky in a somewhat distorted way, this position alters the perspective of what is seen, inviting the viewer to reconsider their relationship with the environment. Here, Kapoor’s intention is for the public to reflect on their surroundings and contemplate the work, becoming part of it. Sky Mirror is a version of a landscape that is constantly changing.
Kapoor’s intention is for the public to reflect on their surroundings and contemplate the work, becoming part of it.
This type of work by Anish Kapoor explores the interaction between the spectator, form, perception, and the environment. Through the use of reflective surfaces and different materials, Kapoor not only explores the visual, but also challenges the viewer to question their own perception of reality and the space around them.