ANISH KAPOOR

“Art is very good at this thing called intimacy,” Mumbai-born British artist Anish Kapoor intones in relation to his work.

Our relationship with art is certainly intimate, but at its best it is something more as well, something both individual and universally resonant. At its best, it teaches us something, creates or makes visible something previously unseen.

Kapoor’s collection on display at the MCA at the moment, the first major showing of his work in Australia, does exactly this. Covering the spectrum of his work, this rare and inspiring exhibition could hardly help but elicit wonder, as strange shapes seem to shift between two and three dimensions, mirrored works show us contradictory reflections, and colours so luminous they seem unreal are piled in impossibly delicate forms.

From the poetic Sky Mirror on the front lawn to the imposing Memory several floors up, Kapoor’s work reflects our own perception back to us, prompting the realisation that it may not be as faithful as we think. These are sculptures of an unusual nature, objects that seem bent on their own disappearance; elusive, confounding, mysterious, and undeniably beautiful. There is an intimacy to these works, but it is an intimacy writ large, a cosmic and expansive intimacy.

Until Apr 1, Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George St, The Rocks, 9245 2400, mca.com.au