Concrete and blood-red wax: British art in Kyiv

A feast of British art is heading for Kyiv.

First up is a major new exhibition of sculptor Anish Kapoor.  Kapoor has been one of my favourite artists since I saw his 1991 Turner Prize-winning exhibit at the old Tate Gallery (this was before the Tate Modern opened in 2000).

Kapoor also has a work, called “Turning the World Inside Out” inside the British Embassy in Berlin.  I used to walk past it every day when I worked there from 1999-2002.

Kapoor’s exhibition at the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv from 19 May to 30 September is his first solo exhibition in eastern Europe and contains, in addition to other existing and new works (“12 monumental concrete mounds”) 2009’s famous “Shooting into the Corner”, which fires red wax across a room.

The UK will also feature at the Kyiv Contemporary Art Biennale ARSENALE 2012, running from 24 May to 31 July.  The Biennale, as I’ve blogged before, has a British curator, David Elliott; a London-based PR company, Curzon PR; a logo designed by British company Barnbrook Design; and a theme taken from the Charles Dickens novel, “A Tale of Two Cities”.

The Biennale will feature ten UK-based artists: Dinos and Jake Chapman, Phyllida Barlow, Richard Deacon, Rachel Kneebone, Raqib Shaw, Ana Maria Pacheco, Shiraz Houshiary, Yinka Shonibare,  Ergin Cavusoglu and Richard Grayson.

The British Council is organizing a series of talks with the Arsenale, starting on 24 May.  The talks include Jake Chapman in conversation with David Elliott, and a Turner prize winner Richard Deacon.

Enjoy.

PS Anish Kapoor is also the creator of a new 115-metre tall artwork at the London 2012 Olympic Park, entitled the ArcelorMittal Orbit.  It opens in July.  But you’ll have to visit London to see it.