Let the World In: Prints by Robert Rauschenberg from the National Gallery of Art and Related Collections

Drawn from more than 400 prints by Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925) that are a key component of the National Gallery of Art's collection of contemporary works on paper, the exhibition features approximately 60 examples from all periods of the artist's work in print media. It chronologically reviews ... Read more

Drawn from more than 400 prints by Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925) that are a key component of the National Gallery of Art’s collection of contemporary works on paper, the exhibition features approximately 60 examples from all periods of the artist’s work in print media. It chronologically reviews the development of Rauschenberg’s prints, from intimate, brushy lithographs studded with black-and-white media images to larger color impressions that combine sophisticated print processes. The artist has included new techniques such as digital imaging and experimented with unconventional papers, cardboard, fabric, and plastic. Similar to Rauschenberg’s widely known “Combines,” the prints appropriate the commonplace through his integration of images from newspapers, magazines, and his own photographs. Perhaps even more than his other works, Rauschenberg’s prints celebrate unpredictability, created in a collaborative setting and cultivating possibilities in print technique.