Rachel Whiteread and Briony Fer | Frieze Masters Podcast
The sixth episode, On Space, is now available, presented in collaboration with dunhill
The sixth episode, On Space, is now available, presented in collaboration with dunhill
The year 1993 marked a watershed for the famous Turner Prize, when it was awarded for the first time to a woman. That artist was Rachel Whiteread and the work was House in East London. In On Space, Whiteread is in conversation with the art historian Briony Fer. Together, they discuss the urges and concerns that underpin Whiteread’s work, from seminal works of the 1990s to her more recent projects, such as the site-specific commission unveiled in the summer of 2023 at Palazzo della Ragione in Bergamo, Italy, which responds to the experience and legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can also find this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
[Drawing] is something I’ve always done in the studio and it’s a way of slowing things down, it’s a way of being on my own, it’s a way of meditating, a way of bringing some colour into my life. – Rachel Whiteread
Find works discussed in this episode here:
Rachel Whiteread, House, 1993, 193 Grove Road, London E3. Destroyed 1993. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Sue Omerod; courtesy the artist and Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread, Ghost, 1990, plaster and steel frame, 2.7 × 3.6 × 3.2 m. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Mike Bruce; courtesy Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread, Retrospective exhibition, Tate Britain, 12 September 2017 - 24 January 2018. Photo © Tate
Rachel Whiteread, Cabin, 2016. Photo: Timothy Schenck; courtesy Timothy Schenck and the Trust for Governors Island
Rachel Whiteread, The Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial in Vienna, 2000. Photo © Werner Kaligofsky
Rachel Whiteread, Nissen Hut, 2018, glass reinforced concrete and steel, 3 × 5.2 × 11.1 m. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo © Ben Thomas, Forestry Commission
Rachel Whiteread, The Gran Boathouse, 2010, concrete, installed in Røykenvik, Gran, Norway. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread
Installation view of Rachel Whiteread: Internal Objects at Gagosian, Grosvenor Hill, London, April 12–June 6, 2021. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.; courtesy Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Blue, Yellow), 2022, papier-mâché, silver leaf and gouache (two panels), 40 × 52 cm. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Thomas Lannes; courtesy Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Azure Blue), 2021–22, papier-mâché and silver leaf, 106 × 64 cm. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Thomas Lannes; courtesy Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Mirror Mirror), 2021, resin, aluminium spray and steel, in 2 parts, 152 × 125 × 9 cm. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.; courtesy Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Pinboard), 2019, resin and steel, in 3 parts, 110 × 246 × 10 cm. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.; courtesy Gagosian
Installation view of Rachel Whiteread:. . . And the Animals Were Sold at Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy, June 23–October 29, 2023. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Lorenzo Palmieri; courtesy Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy
Installation view of Rachel Whiteread:. . . And the Animals Were Sold at Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy, June 23–October 29, 2023. Artwork © Rachel Whiteread; photo: Lorenzo Palmieri; courtesy Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy
Installation view of Hurly-burly:Phyllida Barlow, Rachel Whiteread, Alison Wilding at Gagosian, rue de Ponthieu, Paris, January 19–March 4, 2023. Artwork © Alison Wilding; © Rachel Whiteread; © Phyllida Barlow; photo: Thomas Lannes; courtesy Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread is a contemporary British artist working across sculpture and drawing, using casting to free her subject matter. Briony Fer is Professor of History of Art at University College and has published extensively on 20th century and contemporary art.
About Frieze Masters Podcast
The Frieze Masters Podcast is now available, bringing you our annual programme of live talks – the Frieze Masters Talks programme – curated by the Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Dr Nicholas Cullinan. These conversations between leading artists, writers, museum directors and curators all reflect the ethos of the Frieze Masters fair: looking at the past with a contemporary gaze.
The Frieze Masters Talks programme and the Frieze Masters Podcast are brought to you by Frieze in collaboration with dunhill, the foremost British luxury menswear house.
Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This podcast is a Reduced Listening production. The producer was Silvia Malnati and sound engineer was Andy Fell.
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