RACHEL WHITEREAD: SUBSTITUTE

Gagosian is pleased to announce the exhibition “Substitute,” featuring new sculptures and recent photographs by Rachel Whiteread.

March 26–May 16, 2026

This exhibition resonates with the artist’s use of one medium to evoke another, and with the way her casting process replaces negative space with physical substance.

“Substitute” features large, sculptural wall reliefs, created by pressing papier-mâché pulp onto barn doors and sections of weathered wooden gates, then covering the resulting forms with pigmented silver and copper leaf. In contrast to these opaque metallic surfaces, two clear resin casts of sash windows in shades of blue and pink are on display.

In her sculptural practice, Whiteread often uses common industrial substances such as concrete, resin, and rubber, as well as more traditional materials like plaster and bronze, to produce cast objects with a significant presence that evoke absence, memory, and loss. Starting from a minimalist aesthetic, the work focuses on the tangible surfaces of life, revealing the persistent traces of time and use, while also drawing attention to negative space.

Traditionally used as a preliminary mold for sculptures or children's projects, papier-mâché has a recycled composition that invites a dialogue with the past while providing a tool for creation. As a young artist, Whiteread used the materiality of paper in her transition from painting to sculpture; in Substitute, it continues to serve as a link between the two disciplines. The highly textured surfaces of these works are also imbued with traces of their own history, while the finishes evoke the sensation of cold metal in unexpected tones.

In the back gallery, Whiteread juxtaposes new, small-scale fiberglass sculptures—a new material for her—with photographs. The sculptures are casts of objects the artist found during her walks along the beach, searching for artifacts in the mud. Painted in various bright colors that evoke seaside leisure, their sizes and positions also resemble seating arrangements. Whiteread’s photographs also record serendipitous, everyday discoveries. By documenting discreet material incidents and alignments, their poignant tone suggests a kind of abandonment. Some shots echo her sculptural practice by capturing both positive forms and negative space, while others share her often muted palette.

Viewed together, Whiteread's sculptures and photographs invite deep reflection on the relationship between natural and constructed forms, and on memories rooted in familiar objects, places, and structures.