Rachel Whiteread to produce frieze for the Whitechapel Gallery
09 February, 2012
by: Spoonfed Arts Team
The first permanent work in the UK for contemporary artist Rachel Whiteread.
It's a shame the art world is so completely obsessed with Lucian Freud and the mega-bucks auctions going on at Christie's this week, because out east some rather exciting news has just been announced. Turner Prize-winning contemporary artist Rachel Whiteread is to unveil her first permanent artwork in the UK – a new frieze on the façade of The Whitechapel Gallery.
The work replaces that strange blank rectangle that has been there since the Grade II* listed Arts and Crafts building was built, by Charles Harrison Townsend back in 1901. Whiteread's design responds to the Tree of Life motif that's already part of the distinctive terracotta façade, and introduces gilding to create something characteristically subtle and considered.
The commission has been enabled by The Art Fund, and forms part of the London 2012 Festival, so it looks like there might be a permanent East London legacy from these Olympics after all – shame the money had to come from a charity and not the £9 billion that the taxpayer is stumping up.
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Image credits l-r: Mock-up of the Whitechapel Gallery façade and a gold-leafed bronze
element - courtesy Rachel Whiteread; Whitechapel Gallery - photo: Gavin Jackson/ Arcaid Images
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