Descension

Anish Kapoor is among the most influential artists of our time, known for monumental works that merge sculpture, architecture, and philosophy. For over four decades, he has explored space, perception, and the sublime - through mirrored icons like Cloud Gate in Chicago, cavernous voids, and immersive installations that unsettle reality.

At ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art in Ishøj, Denmark, Kapoor’s Descension (2014) is both hypnotic and unsettling. A large circular pool of dark water churns into a bottomless whirlpool, its endless spiral drawing viewers into an abyss without depth. The low rumble of water sets the stage before it is even seen, amplifying its strange pull.

Kapoor often seeks to give form to what cannot be grasped: absence, darkness, liminality. In Descension, the vortex suggests an eternal descent - a portal into another dimension. It connects to his wider practice, where voids, mirrors, and pigments become metaphors for the spiritual and unknowable.

First shown in 2014 and exhibited worldwide, Descension was part of ARKEN’s Unseen survey in 2024. Though the show has closed, the work remains on view until March 2025, allowing visitors to experience its magnetic, disorienting presence. Few works so elegantly balance simplicity and depth. Here, a pool of water becomes a meditation on infinity and mortality. At ARKEN, the endless whirlpool does more than mesmerize - it reminds us that the most powerful art lies not in what we see, but in what we cannot fully comprehend.