Anish Kapoor’s latest exhibition at London’s Hayward Gallery offers a striking exploration of forms and spaces, engaging viewers with sculptural works that invoke Freudian themes of the psyche. Opening in June 2026, the show presents a series of large-scale installations that challenge perceptions and evoke layered psychological responses.

Kapoor, now 72, uses the Hayward’s notoriously difficult architectural spaces to his advantage, creating immersive sculptures that dominate rather than submit to their surroundings. The artist’s intention appears to be a dialogue between the conscious and unconscious, often expressed through contrasts such as solid and void, or familiar and unsettling forms.

The exhibition begins with a massive, red, organic-shaped sculpture occupying most of the gallery’s lower floor. This piece, evoking the size and texture of a liver or a meteorite, aims to invoke a sense of smallness and vulnerability. However, critics note that despite its imposing scale and visual impact, the work’s material qualities—resembling a blown-up balloon—diminish its intended threat, resulting in a less frightening impression than anticipated.

In the adjacent space, Kapoor shifts focus to more cerebral concerns, filling a pristine white gallery with a series of dark, ambiguous shapes and openings. These range from geometric voids to more organic fissures, inviting speculation about whether they are painted illusions or actual penetrations into the sculptural surfaces. This deliberate ambiguity unsettles visitors, who must navigate uncertain visual and spatial cues, creating a sensory experience that blurs boundaries between perception and reality.

Kapoor’s command of scale remains a central feature throughout. In the top-floor gallery, he installs a monumental work resembling a vast, quivering red landscape. Some interpret this as referencing the Australian outback near Uluru, while others suggest lunar or otherworldly terrains. This piece, with its resonances of ancient and sacred spaces, caps the show by inviting a contemplation of primal environments, evoking a deeper psychological resonance tied to human history and myth.

The exhibition’s underlying psychoanalytic tension is underscored by Kapoor’s interplay between the id and ego—wild, visceral instincts and measured, rational thought—manifested through the physicality of his sculptures and the viewer’s emotional responses. Although some elements, like the opening red blob, may appear less threatening than intended, the overall experience is described as a challenging “aesthetic circuit training” that tests spatial awareness and psychological boundaries.

Kapoor’s ability to “out-size” the Hayward Gallery’s complicated interiors has garnered particular attention. His work boldly confronts and conquers the architectural idiosyncrasies that have long posed difficulties for other artists. This exhibition is noted as one of the most ambitious and dynamic engagements with the gallery’s spaces in recent years, marking a significant addition to Kapoor’s extensive and varied body of work.