While traveling in Northern Africa and Europe in the early 1950s, Robert Rauschenberg continued to create works of art, assembling collages out of trash and found items. Now on display at the Craig F. Starr Gallery, the exhibit Robert Rauschenberg: North African Collages and Scatole Personali c. 1952 features thirty-one of Rauschenberg’s collage pieces and two assemblage boxes. During this seven month trip, Rauschenberg utilized text clippings, shirtboards from dry cleaners, and seemingly random scraps from his travels to piece together conveniently portable artworks. These rough-yet-edited collages appear to be precursors to the grander combine paintings for which Rauschenberg is most famous. Although some of these works have been displayed previously, this exhibition is the first to focus exclusively on this body of work.

Robert Rauschenberg: North African Collages and Scatole Personali c. 1952 is open until August 10. Image: Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled [pictographs and feathers], 1952. Collage: printed paper, fabric, feathers, and glue on paper mounted on paperboard with two central hinged panels, 10 × 6-7⁄8 in. Courtesy The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. © The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation