Robert Rauschenberg, the revered painter and print maker who also turned to assemblage and installation work, has never stopped astounding art enthusiasts, so it’s no surprise that Pace Gallery’s ‘Robert Rauschenberg: Anagrams, Arcadian Retreats, (A Pun)’, which opened this week in New York, is dedicated to the artist pioneering new methodology that combines the dye transfer process of continuous color photography with large scale paper (and even laminate) panels, and sees queues going around the block. Staged together with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the show marks the first time Pace Gallery has shown the artist's works since his death in 2008.
‘Rauschenberg galvanized the artists of the second half of the 20th century and contributed to the rise of every art movement of the sixties and seventies straight through,’ says Marc Glimcher, president of Pace. A case in point: the artist’s groundbreaking work of the 50’s and 60’s alone not only preceded Pop art, but also Neo-Dadaism. At the same time, Rauschenberg’s oeuvre also made a profound impact on both Minimalist and Conceptual artists.
What makes the works on view so extraordinary is that Rauschenberg’s water-soluble inkjet transfer process led to a fluid painterly appearance. Such pivotal examples as the artist’s 1996 piece, ‘Fusion (Anagram)’ which stretches more than twelve feet in width, practically envelops the viewer with disparate images ranging from bottles of Pepsi, bicycle wheels and electric light bulbs that seem lost in a haze. It’s that notion of capturing out-of-the-blue elements, such as bags of balloons and Grecian sculptures that leave the viewer searching for yet more recognizable objects.
It’s a wonderful precursor to the Tate Modern’s Rauschenberg retrospective next year – the institution’s first highlighting of the artist’s oeuvre since his death.
The exhibition focuses on Rauschenberg's pioneering methodology that combined the dye transfer process of continuous color photography with large scale paper (and even laminate) panels. Pictured: 'Chateau Shadow (Anagram)', 1997, inkjet dye transfer on paper
Pictured: 'Fusion (Anagram)', 1996, inkjet dye transfer on paper, which stretches more than twelve feet in width
Just opened this past weekend, the exhibition has caused queues to snake around the block. Pictured: 'Street Peacock (Anagram)', 1997, inkjet dye transfer on paper
What makes the works on view so extraordinary is that Rauschenberg’s water-soluble inkjet transfer process led to a fluid painterly appearance. Pictured: 'Fiction (anagram)', 1996, inkjet dye transfer on paper
Pace Gallery's exhibtion is a wonderful precursor to the Tate Modern’s retrospective next year. Pictured: 'Temple (Arcadian Retreat)', 1996, fresco, artist’s frame
INFORMATION
‘Robert Rasuchenberg: Anagrams, Arcadian Retreats, Anagrams (A Pun)’ will be open until 12 December
ADDRESS
Pace Gallery
534 West 25th Street
New York
-
Fendi celebrates 100 years with all-out runway show at its new Milan HQIn the wake of Kim Jones’ departure, Silvia Venturini Fendi took the reins for a special co-ed A/W 2025 collection marking the house’s centenary, unveiling it as the first act of celebrations within Fendi’s expansive new headquarters in Milan
-
‘Leigh Bowery!’ at Tate Modern: 1980s alt-glamour, club culture and rebellionThe new Leigh Bowery exhibition in London is a dazzling, sequin-drenched look back at the 1980s, through the life of one of its brightest stars
-
Inside the unexpected collaboration between Marni’s Francesco Risso and artists Slawn and SoldierNew exhibition ‘The Pink Sun’ will take place at Francesco Risso’s palazzo in Milan in collaboration with Saatchi Yates, opening after the Marni show today, 26 February
-
Wim Wenders’ photographs of moody Americana capture the themes in the director’s iconic films'Driving without a destination is my greatest passion,' says Wenders. whose new exhibition has opened in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery
-
20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central ParkThe 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any otherGia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truthsAt the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
-
Miami’s new Museum of Sex is a beacon of open discourseThe Miami outpost of the cult New York destination opened last year, and continues its legacy of presenting and celebrating human sexuality
-
Sundance Film Festival 2025: The films we can't wait to watchSundance Film Festival, which runs 23 January - 2 February, has long been considered a hub of cinematic innovation. These are the ones to watch from this year’s premieres
-
What is RedNote? Inside the social media app drawing American users ahead of the US TikTok banDownloads of the Chinese-owned platform have spiked as US users look for an alternative to TikTok, which faces a ban on national security grounds. What is Rednote, and what are the implications of its ascent?
-
Architecture and the new world: The Brutalist reframes the American dreamBrady Corbet’s third feature film, The Brutalist, demonstrates how violence is a building block for ideology
