Anish Kapoor chez Le Corbusier
The 13th Biennale de Lyon is preparing to open up to a world of images, music and art centred on the theme of modern life. Featuring more than 60 artists from 28 countries the Biennale covers three exhibitions one of which is presented by the world-famed artist Anish Kapoor.
Titled Anish Kapoor chez Le Corbusier, Kapoor’s exhibition forms a dialogue with the modernist architecture of the Couvent de la Tourette monastery in Éveux, France, built by French architect Le Corbusier.
The monastery is known for its exhibitions of contemporary art, which are conceived as encounters between the visual art of creatives and the extraordinary architecture of Le Corbusier. The result is a unique French art scene composed of a fusion of Le Corbusier’s modern architecture, religious life, everyday life and contemporary art.
This relationship between a living spiritual place, the architectural quality of the monastery and the artistic attributes of selected works makes each La Tourette project a unique experience. The works, rather than being on display, become embedded in their context as they inhabit the monastery, acquiring meaning from a presence in their place.
This year’s guest artist is Anish Kapoor who came to stay at La Tourette to explore and experiment with the architecture, while preparing a selection of artworks to be installed in dialogue with Le Corbusier’s architecture. During his stay, the artist was highly conscious of the manner in which light is crafted and captivated by the textures of the walls covered in rough rendering or made of unfinished concrete. With a continuous quest for novel forms, Kapoor was fascinated by the imperfections of the construction and used it as inspiration for his work. For instance, the the anthropometric scale of proportions, Modulor, developed by Le Corbusier according to the proportions of the human body, is seen reflected in one of the pieces to be presented at the exhibition.
Staying true to his heritage, immersing in a deep dialogue with the context, Kapoor’s exhibition will play in various ways with the architecture through reflections with mirrors, dialogue of materials and textures between concrete walls and paintings or waxworks, and, lastly, in the resonance between “light cannons” and round mirrors.
Anish Kapoor chez Le Corbusier will be on display from Thursday 10 September – Sunday 3 January 2016.
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