Luhring Augustine is pleased to present at Frieze Masters a selection of early sculptures and works on paper by Rachel Whiteread. One of the leading contemporary artists of her generation, Whiteread’s practice is defined by her ongoing investigation of domestic architecture and how traces of human touch are impressed upon these sites. She casts the spaces inside and around objects, from bathtubs and mattresses, to architectural elements such as doors, floors, and windows, as well as entire building structures, capturing familiar but often overlooked areas of the home. Whiteread uses industrial materials such as resin, rubber, concrete, and plaster to preserve details on the surfaces she casts.

At Frieze Masters, sculptures such as Untitled (Amber Mattress), 1992; Untitled (Amber Floor), 1993; and Untitled (Black Bed), 1991 demonstrate how Whiteread’s works are faithful to their source molds, and yet are disorienting minimalist and inverted expressions of the referenced original object. Through the casting process, she frees these commonplace source materials from practical use, memorializing the human history associated with an object, and imbuing her work with a sense of monumentality and melancholy. Absence is made present, interior becomes exterior, and the invisible is rendered visible.

Though known primarily as a sculptor, Whiteread maintains a vital drawing practice. Her drawings are collectively referred to as a kind of diary, and are produced independently from, though often inspired by, specific sculptural projects. They are a place for her to plan, as well as to play, similarly addressing the concepts of presence and absence apparent throughout her oeuvre. Referencing minimalism, Whiteread often uses graph paper as the basis of these pieces, the foundational grid serving as a reflection of the balance and precision with which she approaches all of her work. Visible in works such as Book Corridors (1997) and Elongated Plinths (1998), Whiteread employs watercolor, correction fluid, acrylic, ink, gouache, and pencil to apply her understanding of materiality to the two-dimensional space of the drawings.

For information on the artist, please contact Lauren Wittels at 212.206.9100 or lauren@luhringaugustine.com.