Anish Kapoor - artist at English National Opera

Anish Kapoor

Set Designer

Anish Kapoor is regarded as one of the most influential artists working today.

Previously at ENO: Tristan and Isolde

Career Highlights

Born in Mumbai, 1954, he studied at Hornsey College of Art (1973–77) followed by postgraduate studies at Chelsea School of Art, London (1977–78) and has since lived and worked in London.

Previous opera set designs include: Parsifal (De Nederlandse Opera, 2012), Pelléas et Mélisande (La Monnaie, Brussels, 2008) and Idomeneo (Glyndebourne, 2003).

Major solo exhibitions include: Château de Versailles (2015); Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul (2013); Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2013); Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2012); Le Grand Palais, Paris (2011); Royal Academy of Arts (2009) and the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London (2002).

He represented Britain at the 44th Venice Biennale (1990), for which he was awarded the Premio Duemila and won the Turner Prize in 1991.

Famous for public sculptures that are both adventures in form and feats of engineering, Kapoor manoeuvres between vastly different scales, across numerous series of work.

Major permanent commissions include Cloud Gate (2004) for the Millennium Park in Chicago, Orbit for the London 2012 Olympic Park and Ark Nova, the world’s first inflatable concert hall, launched for the Lucerne Festival Japan, 2013.

Last updated: 17th January 2024