Katharina Grosse’s exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey redefines painting as an immersive system that expands across space, architecture and perception.
The Katharina Grosse White Cube exhibition London marks the artist’s first major presentation in the UK to fully encompass the scale and complexity of her work. Bringing together new pieces, archival works and a large-scale in-situ installation, the exhibition proposes painting as a spatial and experiential field rather than a confined image.
Painting beyond the canvas
For more than three decades, Katharina Grosse has challenged the traditional limits of painting. In this exhibition, colour moves freely between canvas, architecture and ground, transforming the gallery into a continuous visual environment. Rather than treating painting as an object, Grosse approaches it as a temporary ecology where artist, space and viewer converge.
An immersive spatial system
At White Cube Bermondsey, the exhibition unfolds across multiple gallery spaces, integrating large-scale installations and works from different periods. In the North Gallery, a monumental installation combines earth, canvas and sculpture into a single painted environment. Here, colour operates as a force that alters perception, destabilising spatial boundaries while maintaining the material presence of each element.
Time, movement and process
The exhibition title, “I Set Out, I Walked Fast”, reflects Grosse’s interest in movement and non-linear time. Works produced across different stages of her career are brought together in a “poly-perspectival” structure, allowing past and present to interact. Painting becomes a process that evolves in multiple directions, influenced by both previous and future gestures.
Colour as a transformative force
Central to Grosse’s practice is her use of industrial spray techniques, which extend the gesture of painting beyond the limits of the body. Colour is not used symbolically, but as a direct and visceral force capable of transforming how space is perceived and experienced. The result is an environment where painting operates as an open system, constantly shifting and redefining itself.
The Katharina Grosse White Cube exhibition London offers a comprehensive view of an artistic practice that continues to redefine the possibilities of painting today. Visitors can experience this immersive approach firsthand until May 31, 2026. Discover more international exhibitions in the news section.
