Whiteread's 14,000 white boxes divide the critics

As the public began to assemble in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern to examine the 14,000 white blocks that make up Rachel Whiteread's new commission, Embankment, the critics had already posted their verdict.

And their reviews were mixed. For every observer awed by its monumental power, there appeared to be another irritated, dismayed or plainly unimpressed by a work variously described as sugar cubes and "the nightmare of an Argos warehouse".

The Independent's Tom Lubbock said Whiteread was an artist of fine taste but theatre was not her speciality. "When you're in among [the boxes] it doesn't take long to notice that the shapes ... though high, are not in the least dramatic. There's no doom or vertigo in them. You strain to feel something dynamic or apocalyptic."

Brian Sewell, of the London Evening Standard, went further. Embankment was "another example of meritless gigantism". Whiteread's making of casts was originally amusing but had become a bore, he said.

She was "a sculptress with no affection for traditional materials, tools or work, for surface quality or beauty". The boxes' charm was "transitory" and their meaning "evasive".

But Richard Dorment, in The Daily Telegraph, said Embankment stops you in your tracks. "You won't be able to speak, because your neck will be craned and your mouth will be hanging open. No work of contemporary art in years has overwhelmed me with its radiant beauty in quite the way this one does."

Adrian Searle, the Guardian critic, said Whiteread had "made a work as rich and subtle as it is spectacular. Whatever else it is, Embankment is generous and brave, a statement of intent."

...and the public

BRAUHA SOMOLA, 32, OPHTHALMOLOGIST, STOCKHOLM

"What is interesting is the art and how people react. It is a place that is interactive with its audience. Usually, exhibitions are 'Do Not Touch'. It's great to see above and below in this room. The structure is interesting. It plays opposites, and through the anarchy and absence of abstract you experience the difference of structures and its regularity and irregularity."

STELLA SWANEPOEL, 48, CIVIL SERVANT, STRATFORD

"We were just talking about how ridiculous it is. I think it's weird. After seeing all the other exhibitions before, they have just been far more stunning. For art, it's brilliant. But how people appreciate art and how people think of art will always be different. It is mesmerising, because you have to just stare at it."

SHAHID IKRAM, 38, FUND MANAGER, LEICESTER

"She's definitely filled the Turbine Hall, although she could have added one more extra box. I thought it looks like Thailand meets the North Pole, just one big pagoda and lots of igloos. A good place for religious Eskimos, but a bit cold to sit and contemplate. I think it's quite peaceful. There are quite a few different structures, so it keeps you interested. Definitely not something you can see everyday."

MATTHEW MONROE, 19, ARTS STUDENT, THAMES DITTON

"I love it. We just love things that are big. I love the colour white. If you took one box it looks so simple it's a joke. I like how it looks differently from each view. It's overwhelming from below, and on the highest level it gives a different perspective. Each view is as pleasing as the one before it."

NEIL JONES, 62, DISTRICT PRODUCT SUPPORT MANAGER, FLORIDA

"I have no idea what she's trying to express, but it's definitely a great way to make a whole lot of money on a cardboard box! I am not a modern art fan. What would she do with all these boxes after the exhibition? I would sell them on the river Thames as lifesavers."

ISLAMIYA SCARR, 25, ARTS STUDENT, BRIXTON

"By using a very normal, everyday object and multiplying it, it becomes so much more interesting. It doesn't invade the space in a bad way, it fits in quite nicely. It's very different from what she's done previously. It's interesting, because it makes you think if she's planned where things go, or if it was constructed. I like it mostly because it's not imposing."

JULIANA BHOLA, 40, CIVIL SERVANT, CROYDON

"What is so great about a white box? Would you prefer it in black? Why is everything so dusty? Is it supposed to be a warehouse? On the radio, someone commented that it looked like an Argos warehouse that had collapsed, and I agree. Big box, little box."

JOHN GODWIN, 49, INSURANCE BROKER, WIMBLEDON

" It looks like good fun. The first thing that entered my mind was how they put the last box on the top of the pyramid.People come to just wander around, so it's good for something so abstract to get people involved."

MARGARET HARDY, 60, SEMI-RETIRED, LONDON

"I am curious to know if there was any assistance. Some pieces look very haphazard, and there is a significance of different piles. I've got to figure out why their places are in those sorts of structures. It is interesting that people have to walk around. I like the different hues and shades, and the significance of how the boxes fell, or tumbled, or were they placed?"

Interviews by Soo-Li Yong