Gabriel Chaile: Archaeology of Memory is on view at Whitechapel Gallery, London
April 1 – September 6, 2026
Whitechapel Gallery presents a new commission from Argentinian Lisbon-based artist Gabriel Chaile (b. 1985, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina). Archaeology of Memory (Arqueología de la Memoria) offers audiences a significant opportunity to engage with Chaile’s work, following his shortlisting for the Fourth Plinth (2024) and presentation at Studio Voltaire (2023).
Chaile’s practice is rooted in the distinctive cultural traditions of north-west Argentina. He creates engaging anthropomorphic sculptures, often monumental in scale using adobe (a type of clay made from local organic materials) which reinterpret the formal and material language of the region’s indigenous communities. Acting as both anthropologist and storyteller, Chaile investigates what he terms the ‘genealogy of form’ – the idea that certain forms, motifs or shapes repeat throughout history, taking on a new significance in each changed context. Throughout his work, Chaile features recurring figures and symbols that memorialise and recall a lineage of traditions and practices drawn from his ancestors and community.
For the commission at Whitechapel Gallery, Chaile created a site-specific installation that engages with the particularly rich and diverse historical and cultural identity of the East End. Continuing his long-standing interest in collecting ceramics and other items from across the globe, Chaile will scavenge and source a range of objects (decorative and functional) from the local area surrounding Whitechapel Gallery, which will then feature in the exhibition. When entering the gallery, visitors will encounter a group of adobe sculptures that act as both containers for, and guardians of, the various local objects Chaile has found. His use of ancient organic forms to display culturally diverse objects offers a particularly intimate way of connecting worlds, peoples and stories, within a configuration that evokes a site of archaeological excavation.
Chaile’s fascination with collecting began with Portuguese ceramics, which he primarily found in street markets, stating: “I was interested in how these objects had a migrant story and, as I started travelling more for work, I began buying other objects that came from one culture but somehow ended up in another place entirely.” This assembly of eclectic pieces formed the genesis of a ‘migrant collection’, comprised of objects, items and stories that foster connection with communities, highlighting both differences and affinities. For Chaile, the movement of objects speaks to the movement of people, and his work reflects on these journeys through his own experience of migration and questions about identity.
Archaeology of Memory expands Chaile’s interests and practice, creating a terrain, or environment, sown with different histories and reflecting the many ways of living across diverse geographies. While his work initially appears rooted in materiality, it reveals a rich conceptual framework that offers audiences the means to approach complex issues – as he does – in the manner of an archaeologist.
A fully illustrated publication accompanies the exhibition, featuring a commissioned text by Manuela Moscoso, curator and Executive and Artistic Director of the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) New York, and an interview with the artist.
About Gabriel Chaile
Gabriel Chaile (b.1985, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina) has exhibited extensively around the world. His large-scale public work The Wind Blows Where It Wishes was presented on the High Line in New York in 2023. Chaile’s work was included in the Venice Biennale and the Coimbra Biennial of Contemporary Art in 2022 and the New Museum Triennial in 2021. His work has been the subject of solo presentations at the Fundación Cervieri Monsuárez, José Ignacio (2025); La Tabakalera, San Sebastián, (2024); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley (2024); Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon (2022); the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (2017); Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires (2014); Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires (2015); and Nuevo Museo Energía de Arte Contemporáneo, Buenos Aires (2011).
He has been featured in group exhibitions at Guggenheim, Bilbao (2025); Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah (2025); Malba Puertos, Buenos Aires (2025); Madragoa, Lisbon (2025); the 14th Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre (2025); MARCO, Buenos Aires (2024); C3A – Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía, Córdoba (2023); BoCA – Biennial of Contemporary Arts, Lisbon (2023); Temporary Gallery, Cologne (2023); FORMA, Paris (2023); Fondation Thalie, Brussels (2021); the New Museum, New York (2021); Galeria Municipal, Porto (2021); Plural Nodo Cultural, Bogotá (2021); Espacio Temporal, Mexico City (2021); Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, Montevideo (2019); Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires (2019); Faena Festival, Miami Beach (2019); Art Basel Cities, Buenos Aires (2018); Museo de Arte Moderno de Cuenca (2015); and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Latinoamericano, La Plata (2012). Chaile’s work is included in collections of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires; the Fundación Costantini, Buenos Aires; Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid; and Kadist Foundation, Paris.
About Whitechapel Gallery
2026 marks Whitechapel Gallery’s 125th Anniversary, providing a unique opportunity to celebrate the Gallery’s groundbreaking history and set a bold agenda for the future. Founded in 1901 with the aim to bring ‘the finest art of the world to the people of East London’, the Gallery has been responsible for bringing some of the most radical, innovative and influential artists to its East End home.
From the outset it pushed the boundaries of what a locally-focused cultural institution could do: giving voice and platform to local, national and international artists at all stages of their careers; presenting diverse practices, forms and ideas; exemplifying sector-leading learning and community outreach programmes; and being at the forefront of the global cultural scene.
From ground-breaking solo shows from artists as diverse as Barbara Hepworth (1954), Jackson Pollock (1958), Helio Oiticica (1969), Gilbert & George (1971), Eva Hesse (1979), Frida Kahlo (1982), Sonia Boyce DBE RA (1988), Sophie Calle (2010), Zarina Bhimji (2012), Emily Jacir (2015), William Kentridge (2016), Theaster Gates (2021), Nicole Eisenman (2023), Zineb Sedira (2024), Gavin Jantjes (2024), Peter Kennard (2024), Lygia Clark (2024), Sonia Boyce (2024), Donald Rodney (2025), Hamad Butt (2025) and Joy Gregory (2025) to thought-provoking group and thematic exhibitions that reflect key artistic and cultural concerns, the Gallery’s focus on bringing artists, ideas, and audiences together, remains as important today as it did over a century ago and has helped to cement the East End, as one of the world’s most exciting and diverse cultural quarters.
Gabriel Chaile: Archaeology of Memory has been generously supported by Whitechapel Gallery Commissioning Council, Dorota Audemars, Erin Bell.
Contact
infodesk@whitechapelgallery.org
Whitechapel Gallery
77 – 82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX T
United Kingdom
Captions
Installation views, ‘Gabriel Chaile: Archaeology of Memory’, Whitechapel Gallery, London, 1 April – 6 September 2026. Photo © Above Ground Studio (Matt Greenwood).
