Modern Chess Set

Details

RACHEL WHITEREAD (b. 1963)
Modern Chess Set
32 pieces in mixed media, chess board in carpet and linoleum, 2005, number A/P 2/3, one of three artist's proof sets aside from the edition of seven, with the instruction manual, published by RS & A Ltd., London, within the original printed box
King 100 mm., Pawn 10 mm.
Box 245 x 750 x 415 mm.

Literature

Yves Marek, Art échecs et mat, Editions de l’imprimerie nationale, Paris, 2008, p. 183 (p. 176, ill.).
George Dean, Chess Masterpieces. One thousand years of extraordinary chess sets, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2010 (p. 266, ill.).

Exhibited

The Art of Chess, Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow (exh. cat.), 2006 (p. 22-23, ill.).
32 Pieces: The Art of Chess, Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland (exh. cat.), 24 January - 13 April 2009 (p. 76-79, ill.).
The Art of Chess, Dox Centre of Contemporary Art, Prague (exh. cat.), 2010 (p. 25, ill.).

Special Notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

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Lot Essay

In Modern Chess Set Rachel Whiteread creates a chess set from replicas of vintage dollhouse furniture. An avid collector of doll’s houses and their contents, the artist’s interest culminated in Place (Village), 2006-2008, an installation of 150 model houses which she had amassed over twenty years. Whiteread wittily alludes to traditional gender politics, ranging miniatures versions of everyday utilities and appliances, such as sinks, stoves, ironing boards, buckets, washtubs and wastebaskets, against leisure-based furnishings and objects, such as armchairs, electric radiators and televisions. These carefully chosen objects frame the home environment as a site of work for women and of leisure for men. Each piece is meticulously fabricated after model toys in Whiteread’s own collection and is presented on a patch-work of floral carpet squares and coloured linoleum. With its wooden box referencing the typography and packaging of the 1950’s, Modern Chess Set gently critiques gender stereotypes while nostalgically evoking the aesthetics and spirit of a bygone era.

This work is accompanied by a certificate issued by the publisher.

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