katharina grosse extends painting beyond the canvas into space
I started, I walked quickly report at White Cube London brings together new works, archival material and a large in-situ installation with Katharina Grosseassembling them into a single, continuous environment. Rather than following a chronological order, the exhibition connects works from different periods, allowing them to interact across time. Individual pieces function as points in a larger network, where relationships shift according to movement and proximity.
Since the late 1990s, Grosse has worked primarily with acrylic pigments applied with an industrial spray gun, a technique that extends the reach of the body and captures the act of painting as movement. The gesture is not contained on a surface, but unfolds in space, connecting the act of looking with the act of creation. This approach is based on performance and spatial practices where the boundaries between artwork, location and viewer are reduced.
all images courtesy of White Cube
a painted field extends from the earth to the canvas in Grosz’s work
In the North Gallery, a large in situ installation combines mounds of earth, a partially submerged canvas and a bronze sculpture into a single painted field. Color moves across these elements indiscriminately, covering and connecting uneven surfaces while maintaining their presence. The installation acts as a continuous ground, where the painting overlaps rather than replaces what is already there.
The 9x9x9 series, produced in of the artist New Zealand studio, develops a different spatial logic. Each canvas is divided into two parts, with the artist alternating between them during the painting process. The resulting compositions create smooth transitions and shifting edges, making it difficult to perceive both halves simultaneously. These works read less as images and more as spatial fragments.
In the South Gallery, selected works from the archive are presented alongside more recent paintings. Large-scale forms described as landscapes are installed alongside works using masking and stencil techniques. Hard edges created through coating are interrupted by drips and overspray, while other areas remain diffused. The edge becomes a transition point, where different paint conditions meet.
works from different periods are brought together in a continuous environment
Throughout the exhibition, painting is treated as an open and evolving system. Works produced under different conditions and at different times come into proximity, allowing them to influence each other. Color acts as an active element within space, shaping perception and producing a continuous interaction between surface, movement and environment.
the illustration eschews chronological order in favor of spatial relationships
Individual projects act as nodes in a larger network
