Pillar of light, 1991
Sandstone, 150 x 140 x 200 cm
Just as mud can be shaped into an endless variety of forms and images, the potential of stone is infinite, even while its medium is never amorphous. Among its possibilities is the construction of an architectonic identity through the shimmering of light, as in the great cathedrals (Pillar of Light, 1991). The column of light is the ideal axis linking the dwelling place to the heavens, and architecture is a metaphor of construction, as of the self.
Born in Bombay, India 1954. Lives and works in London. Education: Hornsey College of Art and Chelsea School of Art Design. Exhibitions in selection: Kunsthalle Basel, Tate Gallery and Hayward Gallery, London, Reina Sofia, Madrid, the Whitechapel Art Gallery, The Royal Academy and Serpentine Gallery in London, Documenta IX in Kassel, Moderna Museet, Stockholm and Jeu de Paume and Centre Pompidou in Paris. Kapoor was awarded the ”Premio Duemila” at the Venice Biennale in 1990, the Turner Prize in 1991 and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at the London Institute in 1997 and CBE in 2003.