La Caixa Collection: Empty House of the Stare

The third of four special publications to accompany a year-long display of works from Barcelona's la Caixa Collection at Whitechapel Gallery, selected by and featuring newly-commissioned fictional works by some of the most original English and Spanish-language writers working today.

Established in Barcelona in 1985 by Fundación la Caixa, the la Caixa Collection features over 1,000 works of international contemporary art from the last 30 years, including artists such as Antoni Tàpies, Joseph Beuys, Cornelia Parker and Doris Salcedo.

For a major four-part display running from 2019-20, Whitechapel Gallery has partnered with la Caixa to showcase key pieces from the Collection. Each of the four 'chapters' is curated by a contemporary writer, who also contributes a brand new work of fiction in response to their selection. Each display is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue featuring the works displayed and the new text.

The third chapter, on display in Autumn 2019, is selected by Tom McCarthy (b. 1969, UK; lives in London and Berlin), a writer whose novels include Satin Island (2015), which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, C (2010) and Remainder (2005). He is also the author of a collection of essays Typewriters, Bombs, Jellyfish (2017). McCarthy was on the jury for the 2018 Turner Prize and is a co-founder of the International Necronautical Society (INS), an expansive, networked organisation that slides between the worlds of art, fiction, philosophy and media.

Preceded by selections from Enrique Vila-Matas and Maria Fusco, this third chapter is followed by a final fourth chapter in Spring 2020 with new writing by Valeria Luiselli.