Anish Kapoor

Lisson Gallery, London
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2000

This work is in very good condition overall. The work is stable and well intact. There are very faint handling marks and light wear on the exterior rim with a surface inconsistency at the left turning edge just below center. There are also scattered very faint surface abrasions on the exterior and interior surfaces, only visible under raking light. Under very close inspection and raking light, there are is a very minor surface inconsistency in the lower left corner of the interior quadrant.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Elegant and flawlessly fashioned, Untitled from 2000 is an impressive work of Anish Kapoor’s iconic concave wall sculptures. Seemingly suspended above the ground, the present work perfectly encapsulates the artist’s belief that space can only be rendered through physical material, rather than through absence. Standing before the immense wall sculpture which simultaneously protrudes from and retracts towards the wall, the viewer is made acutely aware of both the space contained within the delicate outer rim of the spherical form, and the space articulated between the structure and themselves.

Throughout his career, Kapoor has always been fascinated with the construction of the universe and the viewer's relationship to it, exploring the definition and perception of physical space since his earliest works as a sculptor. In the mid-1990’s, Kapoor began producing wall-mounted mirror sculptures that interrogated the viewer’s perception of space. The reflection of the works allowed Kapoor to create an opportunity for the viewer to experience a transformed world around them, requiring a personal meditation on how one views the world and the space that they exist in.

Although Kapoor’s sculptures are incredibly innovative in their exploration of space, in their breathtaking simplicity, they are deeply rooted in the tradition of minimalist sculpture set by the likes of Constantin Brancusi and Donald Judd, which demands that the viewer abandon any representational references and meet sculpture on its own, simplified aesthetic terms. This ability to present works that allow the viewer to have a personal experience is central to Kapoor’s practice. Kapoor himself once stated, "Is it my role as an artist to say something, to express, to be expressive?...I don't have any messages to give anyone. But it is my role to bring to expression, let's say, to define means that allow phenomenological and other perceptions which one might use, one might work with, and then move towards a poetic existence." (Exh. Cat., London, Hayward Gallery, Anish Kapoor, 1998, p. 11)

Untitled sustains our attention: by contemplating the work, the viewer becomes enveloped within the space of the work itself. Continuing to work with one of the reoccurring themes in his oeuvre, Kapoor plays with the notion of the "void" by carving out a hole through the center of the once perfectly rounded object. However, the white, opaque surface resists any attempts to visualize within that void. Instead, inside the sloping dome of the sculpture, there is no nothingness—no darkness, no void—to be seen. Instead, contained within the perfectly spherical shell of Untitled, the viewer finds the overwhelming white light of Kapoor’s new sublime. In the absence of any composition detail, the only thing the viewer can discern is this physical space articulated by the vast abyss of the concave interior, intrinsically inverting the world upon itself.