Mumbai-born British contemporary sculptor Anish Kapoor has created an installation using his trademark negative space for the Swedish vodka brand Absolut.
Previously, author Vikram Seth, designers Manish Arora and Ranghvendra Rathore, as well as artist couple Subodh and Bharti Kher had interpreted the iconic vodka bottle.
Kapoor's installation titled 'ABSOLUT Kapoor' uses the sculptor' trademark signature of the interplay of form and vibrant colours.
The art piece is set to be displayed at Project 88 in Mumbai from November 18 to November 24 at the India Art Fair here from January 30 to February 2, 2014.
"Absolut has a long history with artists, from Warhol to many of my great colleagues. The idea of somehow encapsulating whatever it is that one does in a single moment....And kind of making it an Absolut Kapoor. It is a strange notion, but one that I felt I could at least go in pursuit of," Kapoor said in a statement.
Globally, the company had first collaborated with artist Andy Warhol who painted the first Absolut Vodka bottle. This was soon followed by Rosemarie Trockel, Angus Fairhurst and Louise Bourgeois and other well-known artists who have worked with a range of mediums like paint, photography, sculpture, glass, woodwork, folk art, digital art etc.
"It is quite unbelievable for a lover of contemporary art to be collaborating with Anish Kapoor....Absolut Kapoor is a milestone for us- a creative expression remarkable in construct and thought," said Bikram Basu, Vice President- Marketing, at Pernod Ricard India.
In the installation, through the translucent quality of the resin, the absorbent nature of pigment, the radiant glow of alabaster and the fluid reflections of stainless steel and water, Kapoor Kapoor "aspires to evoke sublime experiences, which address primal physical and psychological states."
"Art is really all about transformation; it's about taking a piece of metal, a lump of clay, a bit of cement, or whatever else and turning it into something that it isn't. That fundamental transformation is truly mysterious.
"It is something that is in a way is wondrous. That moment of wonder is something that is deeply attractive and we are instinctively drawn to it, it is as if the work is saying come here, come and be part of this wonder, this thing that is happening. And I feel that intimacy with the viewer is something special, something we have to hold on to," Kapoor said.
All of the iconic bottle designs for Absolut are presently housed at the Museum of Wine and Spirits in Stockholm.
