Renowned British artist Anish Kapoor has opened a major solo exhibition in Beijing at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum. It presents some of his most significant and celebrated works in the last 35 years – with powerful, self-generated installations. The color of red dominated the four major large-size art pieces of Anish Kapoor's first solo museum show in China.

"Symphony for a Beloved Sun" reveals a landscape, activated by a machine that's calmly processing masses of aggregating material. This system – watched over by a vast, red sun that hovers above the scene – takes place with no evident human interactions. It allows the viewer an opportunity to commune directly with the mysterious entity.

"To Anish Kapoor, the color red is like a symbolic icon," said curator Wang Chunchen. "He was born in India, where red is largely applied in religious rituals. It represents communication between human beings and god, as well as energy, passion and vitality." 

The themes of some pieces are not obvious from their looks, like the "Sectional Body preparing for Monadic Singularity." It's a very important piece of Anish Kapoor. The artist invites viewers inside the structure through an inconspicuous door. It opens into a network of glowing red orifices, intravenously connected, and conjures powerful metaphors about the body, existence and spirituality. The construction explores the relationship between the interior and exterior, not only of the work but of the body and space itself.

Red is not the only symbol of Kapoor. The application of mirror reflection is another. At the exhibition hall, visitors are presented with various miniatures of Kapoor's acclaimed public art displays. 

"Cloud Gate" is one of them, better known as "The Bean." Displayed at Millennium Park in Chicago, it is one of the world's largest permanent outdoor art installations. The mirror-like surface reflects the activity and lights of the park and city skyline. Visitors could also see their images reflected from different perspectives. "This art piece is a symbolic contemporary one. It has a simple shape, which goes well with urban life, but actually looks different in different weather, at different times. Meanwhile, the mirror fully enables the public installation to communicate with people," Wang said.

The exhibition in the CAFA Art Museum runs through January 1, 2020. And many of his other important works will be on display at the Taimiao Art Museum of the Imperial Ancestral Temple next month.