Rachel Whiteread treats space as the substance of sculpture, a physical entity that, in the words of French writer Georges Perec, “arrests the gaze.” For over 30 years, Whiteread has attempted to fill the spatial voids bounded by objects and architecture and capture them in form, grounding her practice in a singular paradox—to make the
Mike Nelson, whose practice stretches back to the early 1990s, is best known for hauntingly realistic built environments constructed from salvaged materials and time-soaked objects. Rich in narrative, these genuinely immersive sculptural worlds draw on cultural, political, and historical references to provide strangely moving, and often unsettling, experiences for the viewer.
Chilean artist Benjamín Ossa takes an expansive approach to the world, letting himself be guided by light in works that appeal to experience. Focusing on issues of perception, time, the relation between body and space, and the study of phenomena and their displacement, his works challenge the limits of categorization.
Olaf Holzapfel’s works bridge sculpture, painting, and architecture, traditional craft and contemporary art, nature and culture, the virtual and the real. Born in Dresden, in former East Germany, the Berlin-based artist has long been interested in borders and boundaries—the purposes they serve (overt or hidden) and how to overcome them.
MINNEAPOLIS Walker Art Center Much of the material in these works, including cotton batting, velvet, sewing pins, mink fur, and hangers, points to classic markers of the domestic feminine. But Reaves’s approach to destruction and repurposing does not completely refute these themes and tropes; instead, it feels more like an acknowledgement and remixing.
