Anish Kapoor returns to the Hayward Gallery nearly 30 years after landmark exhibition

Highlights

• Anish Kapoor has opened a major exhibition at London's Hayward Gallery.
• The show marks his return to the venue nearly three decades after a landmark survey of his work.
• New installations feature alongside some of his most celebrated sculptures.
• The exhibition runs from 16 June to 18 October.

Anish Kapoor has returned to London's Hayward Gallery with a major exhibition that brings together bold new works and some of the most recognisable pieces from his career.

The exhibition marks a significant homecoming for the Turner Prize-winning artist, whose work was the subject of a landmark survey at the same venue in 1998. Nearly three decades later, Kapoor is revisiting many of the themes that have defined his practice while pushing them in new directions.

From reflective sculptures and vast installations to works dominated by vivid red pigment, the show offers a sweeping look at an artist who continues to challenge ideas of space, form and perception.

New works explore colour, fear and the unknown

Among the exhibition's newest pieces are Ha Makom, an expansive work created using vibrant red pigment, and All of Nothing, a giant inflated red PVC membrane that greets visitors as they enter the gallery.

Kapoor said red remains central to his artistic language because of the contrasting emotions it can evoke. While often associated with celebration and vitality, he believes the colour can also suggest fear, darkness and uncertainty.

The artist explained that much of his work explores the relationship between the object and the non-object, with red playing a key role in that ongoing investigation.

Monumental installations meet career-defining sculptures

The exhibition combines recent creations with works that have become closely associated with Kapoor's artistic legacy.

Visitors will encounter mirrored steel sculptures, black void-like forms, visceral paintings and large-scale installations. Among the standout pieces is Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto, a monumental red-and-black work suspended from the ceiling.

By placing older and newer works side by side, the exhibition highlights both the continuity and evolution of Kapoor's ideas across decades of practice.

Untitled by Anish Kapoor is displayed at at the press preview for Sotheby's Freize week exhibition of Contemporary art Sotheby'sGetty Images

A return to the gallery that helped shape his career

The Hayward Gallery was the first UK institution to stage a major survey dedicated to Kapoor's work, making the venue an important milestone in his artistic journey.

Reflecting on the exhibition, Kapoor described the return as a form of coming home after 28 years. He said the challenge was not simply to revisit earlier work but to build upon it and take those ideas somewhere different.

Running until 18 October, the exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to see how one of contemporary art's most influential figures continues to reinvent and expand his creative vision.