Rachel Whiteread | Pallet

Rachel Whiteread

Pallet 

Margate, UK: Counter Editions, 2016

46 x 33 x 3 cm (18 x 13 x 1 inches)

Edition of 40 signed and numbered copies

A patinated bronze work available from the publisher, here, for $14,000.

2012 Olympic Posters

Every year since 1912, the city hosting the Olympics or Paralympic Games commissioned at least one poster project to celebrate. A hundred years later, London commissioned twelve posters, by some of the most acclaimed British visual artists of the day. These include Fiona Banner (pictured below), Michael Craig-Martin, Martin Creed (below, bottom), Tracey Emin (below), Anthea Hamilton, Howard Hodgkin, Gary Hume, Sarah Morris, Chris Ofili, Bridget Riley, Bob and Roberta Smith (below) and Rachel Whiteread. The Tate Modern held an exhibition of the works to coincide with the 2012 games. 

The Olympic posters: 

Martin Creed "Work No. 1273”

Anthea Hamilton “Divers"

Howard Hodgkin “Swimming"

Chris Ofili "For the Unknown Runner”

Bridget Riley "Rose Rose”

Rachel Whiteread "LOndOn 2O12.”

The Paralympic posters:

Fiona Banner "Superhuman Nude”

Michael Craig-Martin “GO"

Tracey Emin "Birds 2012”

Gary Hume“Capital"

Sarah Morris "Big Ben 2012”

Bob and Roberta Smith "LOVE.”

Martin Creed also created “Work No. 1197: All the Bells in a Country Rung as Loudly as Possible for Three Minutes,” to take place from 8 to 8:03 a.m. on July 27, the first day of the Olympics. The festival’s web site explained that the idea was to encourage the entire nation “to ring thousands of bells at the same time, whether school bells, church bells, town hall bells, bicycle bells or doorbells.

The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers refused to participate n the project, stating "We are not able to work closely with this project as we believe it is misconceived … We think 8am is not the right time for ringing in very many towers … We do not believe ringing for three minutes nor ringing as fast as possible is really suitable for church bell ringers.” 

A smaller group of enthusiasts visited the clock tower known as Big Ben and brought their own bells. Watch the short video, here. 

Laurie Anderson on Desert Island Discs today

I have an unusual and possibly unfair contempt for radio, and haven’t purposefully tuned in since my teens.  But I’ve always enjoyed BBC Radio’s Desert Island Discs, an archive of which is housed on the BBC website.

The series began in 1942 and is now approaching three and a half thousand episodes. The format remains largely the same, with the guest (or “castaway”) asked to choose eight recordings, a book and a luxury item that they would want with them if stranded on a desert island. 

In 2019, a panel of industry experts voted the program the greatest radio series of all time. 

I’m drawn to the show because I like to hear people talk about their work, and the ways that other culture has influenced them. 

They book mostly celebrities with occasional left field choice like a puppeteer, dog trainer, clown, death-row lawyer, medium or teddy bear expert. 

Periodically they will invite artists onto the show, mostly if they've won the Turner Prize or their work crosses over into pop culture. This is not a criticism - often artists communicate best through their work. 

Laurie Anderson’s primary medium is storytelling, so it’s surprising this is the first time she will appear on the show. She joins artists Marina Abramović, Sonia Boyce, Peter Doig, Jeremy Deller, Antony Gormley, Lubaina Himid, Steve McQueen, Yoko Ono, Grayson Perry, and Rachel Whiteread, who have all previously participated . 

The program airs today and typically can be downloaded, for free, a week or two after the initial air date. 

Rachel Whiteread | Internal Objects

[Rachel Whiteread]

Internal Objects

London, UK: Gagosian, 2021

116 pp., 22.8 × 27.9 cm., softcover

Edition size unknown

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Rachel Whiteread: Internal Objects, this catalogue explores Whiteread’s engagement with the formal language of Minimalism, as well as her "acute sensitivity to objects’ minor details and subtle markers of use and human irregularity." 

The publication includes an essay by Richard Calvocoressi; a reprint of “The Chrysanthemums,” a short story by John Steinbeck; and a poem by Mark Waldron.

Rachel Whiteread

Rachel Whiteread celebrates her 60th birthday today. 

Rachel Whiteread | Modern Chess Set

Rachel Whiteread

Modern Chess Set

London, UK:  RS & A Ltd., 2005

24.5 x 75 x 41.5 cm.

Edition of 7 [+ 3 AP]

A domestic setting as battlefield, fabricated from Whiteread's personal collection of 150 dollhouses, which she had amassed over twenty years. The boxed work includes 32 pieces which refer to chores and leisure in the home, a board made of carpet and linoleum and an instruction manual, 

Rachel Whiteread | Doorknob

Rachel Whiteread

Doorknob

Berlin, Germany: Deutsche Guggenheim, 2001

5.7 x 12.7 x 6.4 cm.

Edition of 300 signed and numbered copies

A UV-resistant Technogel coated with black polyurethane film cast doorknob, accompanied by an information card signed and numbered by the artist. Produced by the Deutsche Guggenheim to accompany the exhibition Rachel Whiteread: Transient Spaces, which ran from October 27the, 2001 to January 13th, 2002. 

Becoming scarce, the work is now valued at approximately a thousand dollars. 

Rachel Whiteread | Untitled (Black Books)

Rachel Whiteread
Untitled (Black Books)
London, UK: Self-published, 1996
30.2 x 101.9 x 23.4cm.
Edition of 10 numbered and initialed copies

A shelf of cast books, made from black pigment, plastic and steel.

With an estimated value of between $75 000 and $100 000.

Rachel Whiteread | Secondhand

Rachel Whiteread
Secondhand 
London, UK: Counter Editions, 2004
]11 x 10 x 16 cm.
Edition of 400 signed and numbered copies


A collection of vintage doll house furniture was arranged by Whiteread to mimic displays outside of furniture stores. This arrangement was then 3D-scanned and output as laser sintered white nylon, at a reduced size.

Available from the publisher, here, for $1,100.00.