Nearly 30 years after his first major exhibition in the UK, Anish Kapoor returns to Hayward Gallery. Taking place from 16 June to 18 October 2026, the exhibition brings together the artist’s sculptural and painterly works in an extensive installation spanning the gallery.
The concepts of void, surface, colour, light and perception recurring themes in Kapoor’s practice form the foundation of the exhibition. Works positioned on the gallery’s walls and floors, as well as forms extending down from the ceiling, alter the way the space is perceived.
Alongside significant works from different periods of the artist’s career, the exhibition includes examples from some of Kapoor’s best-known series. Mirror sculptures with flawless steel surfaces allow viewers to perceive their surroundings and the gallery in new ways, while works coated in Vantablack absorb light to an extraordinary degree, creating surfaces that appear almost completely black.
The illusions of depth Kapoor creates within the gallery are also among the exhibition’s notable features. Voids appearing across the gallery floor and in different parts of the building seem to possess depth while remaining difficult to define, prompting viewers to reconsider their relationship with the space.
The exhibition also gives considerable attention to Kapoor’s recent works. New paintings and sculptures engage more directly with themes including the fragility of human existence, the body and transformation. Two monumental new installations, in which Kapoor makes intense use of the colour red, are also among the highlights of the exhibition.
Part of Hayward Gallery’s 75th-anniversary programme, the exhibition is curated by Ralph Rugoff, who served as the gallery’s director for 20 years. It is also Rugoff’s final exhibition as director of Hayward Gallery.
Over the course of a career spanning several decades, Kapoor has become known for large-scale public works such as Sky Mirror in London and Cloud Gate in Chicago. These works have contributed to a reconsideration of the relationship between sculpture, public space, architecture and the viewer. At Hayward Gallery, the exhibition brings together works from different periods and modes of production, offering an extensive overview of Kapoor’s ongoing investigations into light, void, surface and perception.
Installation view of Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery, 2026. © Anish Kapoor. All rights reserved, DACS, 2026. Photo: Dave Morgan
