By Helen Shih
Anish Kapoor, "Widow" (courtesy of Anish Kapoor Studio)
Rome is the home of classical art and architecture such as the Coliseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel, but its art scene is changing as the city attempts to modernize itself. Several years ago, Richard Meier updated the Roman architectural landscape with the Ara Pacis Museum. The structure was built over an existing building that houses the Ara Pacis Augustae, a sacrificial altar dating to 9 B.C.
Rome’s latest venture, the Maxxi, or the National Museum of the XXI Century Arts, is the city’s first national museum of contemporary art. No relics lie in Maxxi, where Zaha Hadid’s flowing lights and staircases wind through the space ensconced in concrete. The debut collection includes work from artists such as Gilbert and George, William Kentridge, and Gerhard Richter. Not to be missed is Anish Kapoor’s 2004 sculpture “Widow,” a 15 meter long black tube consisting of PVC coasted polyester fabric that flares out like a horn.
Anish Kapoor, "The Farm" (photo by David Hartley, courtesy of Gibbs estate)
The long, flared tube shape in “Widow” recurs in Kapoor’s “The Farm” at Kaipara Bay, New Zealand, shown in the current issue of SPREAD|Artculture magazine. Kapoor describes his tubular sculptures as “colostomy bags.” Unlike “The Widow,” a sculpture in black, “The Farm” is a vibrant, unmissable red. Says Kapoor, “It’s the color of the interior of our bodies. In a way, it’s inside-out, red.”
Kapoor is currently working on ArcelorMittal Orbit, a 380 feet tower for the 2012 Olympics in London. The planned tower would dominate the London skyline, rising higher than the Statue of Liberty. To learn more about Anish Kapoor and take a look into his studio, flip to page 52 of SPREAD|Artculture magazine.
