Robert Rauschenberg

ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG O U T S I D E T H E B OX

OUTSIDE

THE BOX

Robert Rauschenberg Outside the Box: Four Decades of Rare, Experimental & Groundbreaking Work Jim Kempner Fine Art is pleased to present Outside the Box: Rare, Experimental and Groundbreaking Work from Four Decades. The exhibition features a selection of Robert Rauschenberg’s prints and multiples from a number of series spanning the 1960s through the 1990s. The selection showcases Rauschenberg’s unique and experimental approach to his art by way of unusual materials used, recontextualized imagery and his startlingly original processes. Outside the Box will open on May 4th and continue through June 18th, 2017. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, May 4th from 6-8 pm.

When Tatyana Grossman, the founder of ULAE (Universal Limited Art Editions) approached Rauschenberg in the early 1960s about making original lithographs, he said “the second half of the twentieth century is no time to begin drawing on stones.” Luckily, he was coaxed by her charm and persistence, and by 1962 began experimenting on lithographic stones. A friend of Rauschenberg’s, who worked at The New York Times, gave him used photographic printer mats which he used to transfer the images onto the litho stone. These contemporary images were used along with direct mark making on the stone to create his first prints.

Rauschenberg used imagery from newspapers in the majority of his early work, sometimes repeating these images in multiple prints. An example of this can be seen in Rauschenberg’s iconic print Post Rally (1965). Post Rally was made using four of his seven Dante’s Inferno plates, (Kar, Rank, Sink & Mark), along with additional marks and scrapes. An image of a cane was added after Rauschenberg broke his foot during a theater performance. Those early editions bridged the space between abstract expressionism and Pop Art and are considered some of the most immediate and successful post-war American prints.

Rauschenberg’s Airport Series (1974) continues his use of newspaper imagery, allowing the viewer to see the newspaper page, both right reading and reversed. With this series, Rauschenberg printed these intaglio and relief plates on different fabrics, which were then sewn together with machine button-holes for mounting. Room Service includes images printed onto four different layered pieces of green muslin and white cotton. Each print in the edition includes one of the artist’s unique neckties sewn onto the collaged print and allowed to cascade down the center. Although Rauschenberg had used fabric since the 1950s as a part of his combine paintings, the Airport Series were his first multiples on fabric.

Bellini V (1989), a highlight from the 1980s, is part of the critically acclaimed Bellini series published by ULAE and first shown together at the 1990 Whitney Biennial. The series includes imagery from the small (12 x 8”) panel paintings of the 4 Allegories by Venetian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini. In Bellini V, Rauschenberg uses the allegorical image of Perseverance to make a large black and white photogravure, (five times the size of the original) to which he adds sections of his own contemporary photographs as well as abstract markings and shapes. Bellini V, a powerful artistic union between two masters, exhibits Rauschenberg’s remarkable sense of history and design.

Representing Rauschenberg’s later work is the mixed media composition Pegasits (1990), made with screenprint, wax, and polished steel with a painted wood chair. The piece was created during the Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Interchange (ROCI) project. ROCI (pronounced “Rocky,” the name of the artist’s pet turtle) was an international traveling show dedicated to human rights and the freedom of artistic expression. The ideas for the ROCI USA works originated when Rauschenberg and Don Saff, the project’s artistic coordinator, visited Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, a region known for its enormous tin reserves. Rauschenberg was fascinated by the crumpled metallic tin roofs of old homes there and began experimenting with Saff by screen printing images with wax on metal. Rauschenberg’s resulting Wax Fire Works were first shown at the National Gallery of Art in May 1991. Rauschenberg said the glistening surfaces “represented a kind of garish quality of American life.”

Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925, Port Arthur, Texas; d. 2008, Captiva, Florida) is one of the most significant postwar American artists. He was an early innovator of contemporary American printmaking, challenging assumptions about art and pioneering new directions in assemblage and painting. He established the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 1990 to foster his belief that art can affect social change. The foundation supports artists, initiatives, and institutions that embody Rauschenberg’s fearless, innovative, and multidisciplinary approach to art and philanthropy. During his life, Rauschenberg’s work was the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including an international retrospective launched at Tate Modern in 2016 that will be presented at The Museum of Modern Art, NY from May 21- September 4, 2017, and the San Francisco of Museum of Modern Art from November 4, 2017- March 25, 2018.

Mark, 1964.

Lithograph.

15 1/2 x 16”. Edition 42.

Kar, 1964.

Lithograph.

15 3/4 x 16”. Edition 42.

Rank, 1964.

Lithograph.

16 x 16”. Edition 43.

Sink 1964.

Lithograph.

15 3/4 x 16”. Edition 43.

Plank, 1964.

Lithograph.

15 3/4 x 16”. Edition 43.

Post Rally, 1965.

Lithograph.

46 x 31 1/2”. Edition 42.

Platter (from AIRPORT SERIES), 1974.

Relief and intaglio on fabric.

45 x 29�. Edition 20.

Room Service (from AIRPORT SERIES), 1974.

Relief and intaglio on fabric with artist necktie.

54 x 57 1/2�. Edition 20.

Dim Out (Anagrams) 95.D054, 1995.

Vegetable Dye Transfer on paper.

20 x 31 1/2�.

Pegasits, from ROCI USA (Wax Fire Works), 1990.

Screenprint, wax, and polished steel with painted wood chair.

72 3/4 x 96 3/4 x 17�. Edition 22.

Bellini V, 1989.

Intaglio.

59 x 38 1/2”. Edition 50.

Soviet American Array VII, 1991.

Etching with aquatint.

78 3/4 x 51”. Edition 55.

Tampa Clay Piece 3, 1972-73.

Clay with screen-printed ceramic decal, collage using fiberglass and epoxy and soil patina.

19 1/2 x 24 x 5 1/2�. Edition 20. (10 Roman numberals, 10 Arabic numerals).

Storyline II (Reels [B+C]), 1968.

Lithograph.

22 x 18”. Edition 59.

Opal Gospel, 1971.

Screenprint on plexiglass sheets with base.

21 x 23 x 7”. Edition 230.

Cross-Ties (Tracks), 1976.

Clay, dirt, resin and fiberglass with a wet soil patina.

29 1/2 x 49�. Total castings 18.

Cross-Ties (Tracks), 1976. Verso.

Back Out, 1979.

Collage & Transfer.

30 x 23”. Edition 100.

Features From Currents #68, 1970.

Screenprint.

40 x 40”. Edition 50.

Cardbird Box I, 1971.

Edition sculpture of paper, cardboard and wood with photo offset lithograph.

9 x 12 1/8 x 10 1/2�. Edition 20.

JIM KEMPNER FINE ART Jim Kempner Fine Art specializes in contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography, and works on paper, with a special emphasis on contemporary master prints and outdoor sculpture. Our inventory appeals to the established as well as beginning collector. We work closely with art advisors, designers, corporations and museums to expand and enrich their varied collections.

Located in the heart of Chelsea, the gallery’s three story modernist-inspired structure designed by architects Smith & Thompson boasts one of the few outdoor sculpture gardens in New York City, and is included in a number of books about contemporary architecture.

Our inventory includes work by Donald Baechler, John Baldessari, Louise Bourgeois, Christo, Chuck Close, Richard Diebenkorn, Jim Dine, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Spencer Finch, Jane Hammond, David Hockney, Howard Hodgkin, Jasper Johns, Deborah Kass, Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, William Kentridge, Jeff Koons, Robert Mangold, Robert Motherwell (Jim Kempner Fine Art represents the Dedalus Foundation, Robert Motherwell’s print archive, in New York), Sol Lewitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Longo, Elizabeth Peyton, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Ed Ruscha, Paula Scher, Sean Scully, Frank Stella, Donald Sultan, Wayne Thiebaud, Andy Warhol and others.

Among the contemporary artists whose work we represent are Robert Attanasio, Christopher Beane, Stanley Casselman, Long Bin Chen, Eduardo del Valle and Mirta Gómez, Rinaldo Frattolillo, Gianfranco Gorgoni, John Grande, John Henry, Charlie Hewitt, Jay Kelly, Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese, Jerry Mischak, David Mitchell, Craig Norton, Greg Parker, Robert Petersen, Randy Regier, Tom Slaughter, Pal Svensson and Boaz Vaadia.

Formerly a private dealer, Jim Kempner opened his gallery, Jim Kempner Fine Art, at its present location in the fall of 1997. Dru Arstark has been the gallery director since 1998 and Sarah Bielicky has been the associate director since 2011. Jim Kempner has published prints by Rinaldo Frattolillo, Charlie Hewitt, Robert Indiana, Paula Scher, Bernar Venet, in addition to Gianfranco Gorgoni’s photographs of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. Other publications include Ligorano/Reese’s Line Up portfolio, Untitled 2001 silkscreen, and the DEMOCRACY lightbox, made in collaboration with gallery director Dru Arstark, under the name Madness of Art Editions. Additionally, he has published his first editioned print, Apocryphal Now, in 2014.

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