Into the Void Anish Kapoor Reveals His First Works Using Vantablack the Worlds Darkest Color in Venice
What do you get when you combine the Baroque interior of a Venetian palazzo with the bottomless void of the blackest material in the world? Ask Anish Kapoor, the British-Indian artist who is unveiling the first sculptures he has made using Vantablack, casting an illustrious shadow across this year's Venice Biennale. The material in question, which Kapoor has called more of a technology than a paint, was initially developed by the U.K.-based Surrey NanoSystems for military-grade stealth weaponry. The coating, which refracts light and transforms it into heat, consists of millions of carbon nanotubes, which are "grown" in a chamber under powerful lamps. Now, Vantablack's first aesthetic applications are on display in an exhibition that unfurls across two venues--the Gallerie dell'Accademia, one of Venice's most iconic venues for experiencing the art of Old Masters--and a palazzo acquired by Kapoor himself. Installation view of Anish Kapoor's exhibitio...