From 5 May 2026, Palazzo Manfrin reopens to the public with visionary and unrealised projects of the artist
Anish Kapoor, Portrait by George Darrell, 2021
In 2026, Venice is set to host one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the year, closely aligned with the opening of the Biennale. At the centre of this major event is Anish Kapoor, one of the most influential artists on the international contemporary art scene, who will reopen Palazzo Manfrin to the public with an exhibition dedicated to the most ambitious projects of his career—both realised and unrealised. Scheduled to open on 5 May 2026, the exhibition will coincide with the opening days of the Venice Biennale and will also mark the reactivation of the artist’s Venetian foundation, closed since 2022.
Following the large-scale exhibition held in 2022 across the Gallerie dell’Accademia and Palazzo Manfrin, Kapoor returns to Venice with a show that adopts a distinctly conceptual and research-driven approach. Rather than focusing solely on the iconic works that cemented his global reputation, the exhibition delves into the artist’s extensive project archive, spanning more than forty years of practice. Models, maquettes, architectural studies and unrealised ideas come together to reveal a body of work defined by constant tension between materiality, void and perception—key themes in Kapoor’s contribution to contemporary art.
An exhibition beyond the market
Kapoor has stated that the exhibition is intended to foreground a lesser-known aspect of his practice, one often overshadowed by the success of monumental public sculptures. While works such as Cloud Gate in Chicago or major infrastructural commissions have become emblematic of his career, many of his most radical ideas have never entered the commercial circuit.
In Venice, these non-commercial works take centre stage. Wax pieces, pigment-based models and experimental forms—some never meant to be realised—offer insight into a parallel strand of Kapoor’s artistic thinking. For the artist, the distinction between realised and unrealised works is ultimately secondary. What matters is the conceptual intensity of the idea and its ability to challenge perception. This body of work, largely removed from market logic, is what Kapoor identifies as essential to keeping his artistic practice alive and intellectually fertile.
Palazzo Manfrin, © Anish Kapoor, Photo © Attilio Maranzano
Left: Untitled, 1992. Sandstone and pigment, 230x122x103 cm. Right: Void, 1989. Fibreglass and pigment, 200x200x152.5 cm. Photograph: Michel Zabe ©Anish Kapoor. All rights reserved DACS, 2021
Foundation or seasonal showcase?
Despite the exhibition’s declared distance from commercial dynamics, its timing inevitably raises questions. The reopening of Palazzo Manfrin occurs precisely during the opening days of the Venice Biennale, when the city becomes the epicentre of the global art world. Collectors, curators, institutions and media converge on Venice, amplifying visibility and cultural capital.
This coincidence invites reflection on the role of the Anish Kapoor Foundation in Venice. Is it conceived as a permanent public institution dedicated to research and experimentation, or does it function as a highly calibrated exhibition space activated during moments of peak international attention? The answer likely lies somewhere in between. Kapoor’s project navigates a delicate balance between artistic autonomy and strategic positioning within the ecosystem of contemporary art.
What to expect from the Venice exhibition
The exhibition at Palazzo Manfrin will unfold as a layered and immersive journey. Alongside the extensive display of project models, several significant works from Kapoor’s past will be presented. Among them is Descent into Limbo (1992), which will remain permanently installed at its Cannaregio site even after the exhibition closes. The work epitomises Kapoor’s exploration of void as both a physical and psychological experience, drawing viewers into an unsettling encounter with absence.
Also returning is At the Edge of the World (1998), shown in Venice in a new version characterised by an exceptionally deep black surface. Kapoor has clarified that this is not Vantablack—the ultra-black material often associated with his practice—but a related substance capable of producing a similarly destabilising visual effect. Once again, colour functions not as surface decoration but as a tool to negate depth, disrupt spatial perception and challenge the viewer’s sense of orientation.
Among the newly announced works is a small-scale intervention described by the artist as a form of “immersive painting.” The piece consists of a compact environment, measuring less than six cubic metres, saturated with dense masses of colour and visible only from its threshold. This intimate yet powerful work encapsulates many of Kapoor’s central concerns, from the dissolution of boundaries between painting and sculpture to the role of the viewer as an active participant in the perceptual experience.
Anish Kapoor, At the Edge of the World (1998) Photo: David Stjernholm
Venice within Kapoor’s global trajectory
The exhibition at Palazzo Manfrin forms part of an exceptionally active period in Kapoor’s career. Throughout 2026, the artist will be the focus of several major international exhibitions, including a solo show dedicated to his paintings at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, a presentation of steel sculptures at Lisson Gallery in New York, and a large retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London—nearly thirty years after his last exhibition there.
Within this global itinerary, Venice occupies a particularly symbolic position. More than just the site of a major exhibition, the city represents a unique crossroads where contemporary art confronts history, architecture and the complexities of the present. Kapoor’s return to Venice reaffirms the city’s enduring role as a laboratory for artists who seek to test the limits of form, matter and perception, and who view the exhibition space as a field of philosophical as well as aesthetic inquiry.
