August 03, 2021 

Palazzo Priuli Manfrin in Venice. Courtesy Surface Magazine 

The foundation of the British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor has begun renovating a palazzo in Venice that will eventually become the organisation's headquarters. The Anish Kapoor Foundation has bought and will be renovating the 18th-century Palazzo Manfrin into a gallery, artist studio, and archival deposit. Mario Codognato, Venice native and current director of the Anish Kapoor Foundation, will be leading the new project.

Palazzo Manfrin was built in the 1500s for the aristocratic Priuli family. The Venetian palazzo was reconstructed during the 1720s, and was further modified in the late 1780s.

Until recent years, the building served as a school and has since fallen into disrepair. Kapoor tapped the architecture firms FWR Associati and UNA studio, based in Venice and Hamburg, respectively, to spearhead this major project. 

Facing onto the Cannaregio Canal, the Palazzo Priuli Manfrin was established in the 16th century and largely rebuilt in the 1700s. It first served as the seat of the Priulis, a prominent Italian aristocratic family which claim among their ranks several Doges of Venice. During the 19th century the palace housed a collection of paintings that acted as a predecessor to the Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia where, incidentally, Kapoor will debut his much anticipated VantaBlack sculptures coated in the world's "blackest" pigment next year (20 April-9 October 2022). 

Anish Kapoor. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery  

The Palazzo Marin will host rotating exhibitions in a ground-floor gallery. Its second and third floors will display works from the foundation’s collection, and there will also be room for an archive and a workshop intended to support artists and scholars working in the fields of history, technology, and art. According to a statement from the Anish Kapoor Foundation, the programme will include: "Conferences and workshops for scholars and artists interested in the history, technologies and developments of sculpture as an art form, creating initiatives with experts in different cultural and scientific fields to contribute to a better understanding of contemporary art and culture." The foundation adds that it intends to "work closely with the museums and cultural institutions of the city of Venice, with universities and research centres, as well as with organisations that deal with the future of the environment".

The Kapoor Foundation is expected to open at Palazzo Manfrin in 2023. However, this isn’t the only upcoming Kapoor project going into town. In 2022 the Gallerie dell’Accademia will host a large exhibition of Kapoor’s sculptures coated with Vantablack, possibly the darkest shade of black in the world.

In 2022, the Gallerie dell’Accademia will host a major exhibition of Kapoor’s sculptures coated in Vantablack, which is believed to be the darkest shade of black in the world.