Robert Rauschenberg at 100

Robert Rauschenberg (1925 – 2008) was an American artist who changed how people think about what art can be. Born in Port Arthur, Texas, he became famous in the 1950s and 60s for his ​“Combines,” works that mixed painting with everyday objects like tires, quilts, and newspaper. Rauschenberg blurred the line between art and life, showing that ordinary materials could carry meaning and emotion. He worked across many forms — printmaking, photography, performance — and often collaborated with dancers and composers like Merce Cunningham and John Cage. In 1964, he became the first American to win the top painting prize at the Venice Biennale, a key moment that signaled the global rise of contemporary American art. Rauschenberg’s curiosity and rule-breaking spirit opened doors for Pop Art, performance art, and today’s multimedia practices, making him one of the most influential artists of the 20^th century.

Printmaking was the perfect medium for Rauschenberg, who was fascinated with incorporating everyday materials into his art. His prints included clippings from newspapers and magazines, personal photographs, images from art history, street litter, receipts, and other ephemera from his everyday life. To create his layered, collage-like prints, Rauschenberg invented entirely new printmaking techniques and experimented with printing on transparent materials like plexiglass. Rauschenberg credits his success as a printmaker to his dyslexia. ​“I already see things backwards!” he said. ​“You see, in printmaking everything comes out backwards so printing is an absolute natural for me.”

Support for this exhibition is generously provided by Leonard and Eddi Wolk in memory of Martin and Enid Packard