Anish Kapoor will open an exhibition at Palazzo Manfrin in Venice on May 5, focusing on his architectural-scale sculptural projects—both realized and unrealized. The show includes around 50 to 70 models, with highlights such as *Cloud Gate* (2006) in Chicago, the Monte Sant’Angelo Metro Station in Naples, and unrealized plans for a work in outer space. New works include an immersive painting room, and *At the Edge of the World* (1998) has been remade in a dark black paint related to Vantablack. The exhibition runs through August, after which *Descent into Limbo* (1992) will be permanently installed on the Cannaregio site.
The exhibition matters because it foregrounds the non-commercial side of Kapoor’s practice, allowing him to show ambitious projects that are not driven by market demand. Kapoor also uses the occasion to critique the current art world’s focus on identity politics, arguing for a return to connoisseurship and a broader visual-emotional language. His comments on nationalism and the Venice Biennale’s historical ties to Western nationalism add a provocative layer, positioning the show as both an artistic statement and a cultural intervention.