Anish Kapoor

Anish Kapoor is back at the Hayward Gallery, running from 16 June to 18 October 2026. It's his first show there in 28 years, nearly three decades since his first major UK survey, and this time he's taking over the whole Brutalist building. The retrospective brings together sculptures, paintings and immersive installations, ranging from the massive to the domestic, all built around the physical and visceral reaction he wants to provoke in the viewer.

His signature red-and-black palette runs through the rooms. You'll find flawless steel mirror sculptures that warp and distort, and objects coated in Vantablack — the nanotechnological substance that absorbs 99.965% of visible light, for which he holds exclusive rights. Alongside them are depthless voids that draw you in with a sense of vertigo. The show also features dramatic recent paintings and sculptures confronting the fragility of human existence, plus new monumental installations in his signature red.

Kapoor was born in Mumbai and is a Turner Prize winner. He's described scale as a matter of meaning rather than size, and has named Jackson Pollock as the great artist of his generation. The exhibition runs at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX, from 16 June to 18 October 2026. Tickets are £22, and free for members.