Robert Rauschenberg Centennial

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota | 1 March—3 August 2025

This exhibition presents a selection of works from The Ringling’s collection, including major pieces from several significant series. On view are two major pieces from Rauschenberg’s sculptural Glut series (1986–89;1991–94) and the textile-based Hoarfrosts (1974–76), significant examples of works on paper – including a lithograph from the Glacial Decoy series (1979–80) – and photographs from the Studies for Chinese Summerhall portfolio (1983). Rauschenberg left a lasting legacy in Florida, where he moved in 1970. In 1992, he built his large studio on Captiva Island and four years after his passing, in 2012, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation launched its artist residency program on the artist’s property.

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Museum Ludwig, Cologne | 3 October 2025 – 11 January 2026

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Robert Rauschenberg’s artistic practice revolved around integrating ‘the real world’ into his art. As he famously stated, ‘I want a picture to look like something it is.’ This vision led the artist to incorporate found objects – ranging from newspaper clippings to taxidermied animals – and photographs into his work. The exhibition Robert Rauschenberg’s New York: Pictures from the Real World at The Museum of the City of New York explores Rauschenberg’s complex relationship with photography, particularly in the context of New York City. The exhibition will feature three sections: ‘Early Photographs,’ ‘In + Out City Limits / New York,’ and ‘Photography in Painting,’ as well as an interactive collage component that will invite visitors to engage with Rauschenberg’s innovative approach to image-making. 

The Menil Collection presents Robert Rauschenberg: Fabric Works of the 1970s which looks at the artist’s expressive and conceptual use of fabric as a sculptural medium. This exhibition of more than forty-five sculptural works—including major loans from collections in the United States—is the first museum survey to highlight Rauschenberg’s innovative use of cloth, sail-like assemblages made with pieces of fabric. In the 1970s, he experimented extensively with the ways in which woven materials hold printed images, move in the air, respond to gravity, and capture colour and light. Focusing on three groups of works from the 1970s – Venetians (1972–73), Jammers (1975–76), and Hoarfrosts (1974–76) – the show reflects his career-long interest in unexpected materials and the rich intersection of art, everyday life, and performance.

In February 1985, the Fundación Juan March organised Robert Rauschenberg’s first exhibition in Spain. Forty years later, the foundation presents a new exhibition of Rauschenberg’s work focused on a structural element in his practice: his use of images and photography. Rauschenberg started using a camera at Black Mountain College and, in the 1950s, he began collaging press clippings into his Combines (1954–1964). From 1962, he also used silkscreen to transfer images directly onto canvas. 1979 marked a key shift in Rauschenberg’s practice from repurposing photographs published in the press to using his own snapshots – a novel approach that not only resulted in the development of this artistic technique but also yielded new opportunities to disrupt traditional hierarchies and embrace concepts of random order.

Robert Rauschenberg and Asia brings together a selection of major works produced by Rauschenberg during and in response to his time in Asia. The exhibition at M+, Hong Kong traces the conceptual, formal and material influences on his practice, such as sourcing textiles and collaborating with paper-makers and ceramicists in China, India, and Japan. It also considers the history and legacy of his Asian Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) projects, which included exhibitions in Beijing (1985), Lhasa (1985), Tokyo (1986), and Kuala Lumpur (1990), and their lasting impact on local artists. The display will feature works by Rauschenberg and by Asian artists in dialogue with his practice.

Robert Rauschenberg: Image and Gesture at Kunsthalle Krems is the first monographic museum exhibition dedicated to the artist in Austria, presenting a survey of about 50 works, mainly paintings, drawings, and prints. The focus of the show lies in the combination of image and gesture in Rauschenberg’s work, using photographic materials from newspapers, magazines, and the artist’s archive for a painterly and graphically gestural transformation on the picture plane. The show will be accompanied by film and video material of Rauschenberg’s performative and collaborative art (Pelican, 1963; Open Score, 1966) as well as Art and Technology projects like the Revolvers series (1967) and works related to global social activism (ROCI, 1984–91).

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