Rachel Whiteread: Drawings

Allegra Pesenti, Ann Gallagher, Rachel Whiteread

This book explores Whiteread s draftsmanship, a lesser-known yet fundamentally important aspect of the artists creative process. My drawings are a diary of my work, Whiteread explains, and like the passages in a diary her drawings range from fleeting ideas to laboured reflections. This book sheds light on the distinctive characteristics of her works on paper, such as their variegated textures, the subtle nuances of tone over colored graph paper, and the play of imagery in collaged constructions. It presents exquisite reproductions of Whiteread s drawings, with essays by Allegra Pesenti and Ann Gallagher. A visual essay by Whiteread is a distinguishing feature of the volume, reflecting an installation of found and made objects gathered from various sources. Taken as a parallel to her sculpture or seen as a further dimension of her art, her drawings constitute a significant and defined area of Whiteread s remarkable career, one that deserves close attention and celebration.