Robert Rauschenberg foundation donates three sculptures to Tate and National Galleries of Scotland

By Gareth Harris

Three key works by Robert Rauschenberg will go on show at Tate Modern in London as part of a new display devoted to the influential late US sculptor (20 September-December 2027). The sculptures were donated by the Robert Rauschenberg foundation to the Artist Rooms collection, which is jointly shared by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).

The three pieces donated to Artist Rooms are part of a series called Gluts: G-I Glut (1986), Rasputin's Revenge Early Winter Glut (1987) and Mobile Cluster Glut (Neapolitan) (1987). The works reflect the rise of consumer culture, with Rauschenberg commenting that “it’s a time of glut. Greed is rampant. I’m just trying to expose it, trying to wake people up.”

“These three Gluts, forged from the remnants of a particular moment, ask us to look squarely at what we value and what we discard. Collaboration and intentionality were central to the artist’s ethos,” said Courtney J. Martin, executive director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, in a statement.

According to Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, which co-represents the foundation, The Gluts represent one of “Rauschenberg’s earliest forays into a new material, metal, in the form of found objects assembled and riveted together to create wall reliefs and freestanding sculptures.”