ROM acquires artwork by Anish Kapoor

ROM recently added Fold II, a sculptural print by British artist Anish Kapoor, to its collection. Kapoor, a renowned monumental sculptor, is known for his public art projects such as the bean-shaped Cloud Gate in Chicago’s Millennium Park and the ArcelorMittal Orbit for the London 2012 Olympic Games, now the largest work of public art in Britain. 

Fold II is an exceedingly beautiful print with sculptural qualities. Housed within an artist-designed frame, it reflects all the makings of Kapoor’s work—bold colour, abstract organic form, and an unsettling sense of space. 

This print is a unique form within Kapoor’s body of art. It combines two sheets that resemble pages of a book. The sheets start together in the middle, creating a crevice or fold, and swell upwards before descending to a resting position at the far ends. The pigment has been etched on in such a way that it looks painted or dyed. When the sheets are together, the effect is a coloursaturated dot that emerges from the fold in the middle and seeps outwards like a stain. 

Fold II references historical South Asian art as well as contemporary art practice. It resembles the sun or, in the Indian tradition, a bindu, an ancient symbol that is considered the point at which creation begins. In art history, his work fits into Post- Minimalism, a style characterized by pared-down form and geometric abstration that becomes an experience in form and space. Anish Kapoor’s work can be broken down into three major categories: monumental public sculpture, smaller gallery-based sculpture, and his works on paper. The latter are perhaps the least well known, but through them Kapoor’s experiments in colour and form are most apparent. Fold II was produced as a special project between Kapoor and Paragon Press, a printing house that invites and collaborates with well-known artists to create a project in the form of a series or portfolio of prints. 

This acquisition was made possible by the generous support of the Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust, Peer Review Fund, and is part of the ROM’s newly established Dan Mishra South Asia Initiative.

Deepali Dewan is the Dan Mishra Curator of South Asian Art and Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum.