Entitled Anish Kapoor. Untrue Unreal, Palazzo Strozzi’s major new exhibition is dedicated to the contemporary art giant, who revolutionised the concept of sculpture. From Oct. 7, 2023 to Feb. 4, 2024, the Indian artist’s works will engage in a dialogue with the architecture of the noble Florentine palace and with its visitors, who are challenged to engage their very senses.

Pigment, stone, steel, wax and silicone, to name but a few of the materials he works with, are manipulated, sculpted, smoothed, saturated and treated, calling into question the boundary between plasticity and immateriality, with colour becoming an immersive phenomenon, possessing its own spatial and illusory volume at the same time.

Empty and full spaces, absorbent and reflective surfaces, geometric and biomorphic forms: this is an astonishing journey of monumental installations, intimate environments and uncanny forms.

Comparing historical and recent works – among which is a site-specific production designed for the palace’s Renaissance courtyard – in which the “unreal” mixes with the “untrue”, transforming or denying the common perception of reality and challenging the viewer to search for the truth beyond appearances, exploring a world where the boundaries between the most established dualities – body and mind, nature and artifice, true and false – dissolve, opening a door to the dimension of the impossible.

This is a unique experience, curated by Arturo Galansino, Director General of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi.

ph. Ela Bialkowska – OKNO studio