Negative Space of Sculpture and Entropy: The Creations by Rachel Whiteread

[[abstract]]Rachel Whiteread established her own unique style of sculpture in the 90’s. By using traditional methods of sculpting and casting, she reverses and presents the spaces which could be seen in our daily life and surroundings in a modern way. This essay aims to study the forms, methods and meanings of the works which Whiteread composed from 1989 to 2006. The research would introduce the paradigm of Whiteread’s works by analyzing the concept of spaces and patterns, and explain the reasons of dichotomy which is often discussed by art comments. Referring to Gestalt Theory and the concept of entropy proposed by Rosalind E. Krauss, the study would illustrate the spectacular spirits and features Whiteread has been giving to her works. Besides, we would also retrace the background and the times when Whiteread has stared her work, and evaluate the art value of her extraordinary and imaginative sculptures.