The 16th-century Palazzo Manfrin in Venice, which was purchased by the British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor in 2018 to house his foundation, will open to the public for only the second time this spring. (The first was in 2022, when the palazzo co-hosted, with the Gallerie dell’Accademia, a show of new works Kapoor made using nanotechnology.)
The upcoming exhibition, according to The Art Newspaper, will open on May 5, a few days before the 61st Venice Biennale. The show will feature some 100 architectural models, sculptures, and installations—most of which are related to unrealized large-scale projects—from the past 50 years.
Kapoor told TAN that the focus on less saleable work is intentional. “It’s important that [the show] isn’t restricted to what the market can consume. Yes, there’s a side of my practice that is for sale. But throughout my career I’ve always had all kinds of works—things made out of wax and all sorts of things—I’ve hardly ever sold a single one of those, and in a way that’s what keeps my practice alive.”
One of the pieces on view will be a new incarnation of At the Edge of the World (1998), a giant hanging dome that will be painted black on the inside, rather than the deep red of its original two versions. There will also be a version of Descent into Limbo (1992), which will remain installed at the Palazzo Manfrin after the show closes in August. (A museumgoer accidentally descended into the installation’s 8-foot pit when it was on view in Porto, Portugal, in 2018.) Most works, however, will involve unrealized projects from Kapoor’s past oeuvre, as well as some new immersive installations.
In addition to the show in Venice, in 2026 Kapoor will have exhibitions at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia (Feb. 9-June 7), Lisson Gallery in New York (Feb. 11-Apr. 11), the Serlachius Museum in Mänttä Finland (May 23-Apr. 4, 2027), and the Hayward Gallery in London (June 16-Oct. 18).
