Robert Rauschenberg

This book was published on the occasion of the exhibition Robert Rauschenberg: Spreads and Scales in 2023, the first show to highlight these related series in New York for more than 40 years, and features an essay by Nancy Spector. The layered, multidimensional wall-mounted and sculptural forms from these important bodies of work, made between 1975 and 1983, demonstrate the artist’s unparalleled ability to expand the artistic possibilities of recognizable, everyday objects by ingeniously juxtaposing and combining forms in space.

 

Rauschenberg’s seemingly instinctual ability to connect images, forms, and mediums carried throughout his career, and is powerfully demonstrated through his Spreads and Scales. The Spreads (1975-1983) are large-scale, wall mounted works with protruding three dimensional elements. The title implies a wide expanse of land as well as a fabric covering. The sometimes freestanding Scales (1977-1981) expand upon this idea to incorporate large found objects into, alongside, or on top of surfaces covered in transposed imagery. The two series shown together demonstrate the uniqueness of Rauschenberg’s vision and approach to experimentation across a variety of chosen mediums.

 

Expanding upon the conceptual framework of his Combines, the Spreads and Scales merge his arsenal of ideas and the technical prowess at this critical juncture to form works that teeter between paintings, sculptures, and photographs, masterfully demonstrating the artist’s unquestionable inventiveness throughout his life that continues to inspire artists working today.

 

Published by Gladstone Gallery, 2023

Hardcover
English
66 pages
10.25 x 12.25 inches; 26 x 31 cm
ISBN 979-8-218-17682-2