The Limits of Abstraction: Christopher Wool’s Comprehensive Exhibition at Gagosian London

One of contemporary art’s giants, Christopher Wool, is finally appearing before audiences with a long-awaited major exhibition at Gagosian’s Grosvenor Hill space in London. This, his third solo show at the gallery, brings together more than fifty recent works on paper, sculptures, and prints. For Wool, process and subject go hand in hand; this exhibition underscores the fundamental interconnectedness of his various practices.

Repetition, Erasure, and the Industrial Line

The processes in Wool’s multilayered works on paper reveal the extraordinary breadth of his artistic strategies. Beginning in the 1990s, the artist started reproducing his own works via silkscreen. Over time this approach grew more complex; using the cyclical line of an industrial spray gun, Wool explored effects of repetition, scale, and rhythm.

Although often associated with a monochrome palette, the works at Gagosian are enriched with pastel tones that demonstrate how Wool creates something new by erasing, collaging, repainting, and digitally altering his own imagery. Dragging thinner-soaked rags across painted surfaces to veil his images behind a gray haze is a particularly significant part of his artistic gesture.

Texas Fences and Twisting Sculptures

The looping, handwritten-like lines in Wool’s sculptures echo the gestural marks in his paintings. The four small and two large copper-clad steel and bronze sculptures on view trace their origins to the arid landscape of Texas. While living there, Wool spent years collecting old barbed wire and baling wire, discovering their sculptural potential.

To emphasize the handmade quality of his sculptures, the artist deliberately leaves visible details of the production process, such as welded seams.

The exhibition also includes print series such as the Defenestration Suite, created to illustrate the 2023 poetry book by writer, musician, and longtime Wool collaborator Richard Hell. In these prints, letters and words—reminiscent of Wool’s iconic word paintings—intertwine with lines, testing the visual resonance of language.

Artist: Christopher Wool

Venue: Gagosian Grosvenor Hill, 20 Grosvenor Hill, London

Dates: Continues until 19 December 2025

Content: More than 50 works on paper, sculptures, and prints