Surface Tension
This exhibition will explore a selection of Robert Rauschenberg’s work in order to shed light on his redefinition of surface as a site of infinite possibility. Moving beyond the pictorial conventions of Greenbergian Modernism, Rauschenberg’s work in the early 1950s reintroduced a consideration of content over form by redefining what a canvas’ surface entails. In reacting against the paradoxical optimism and angst of the Abstract Expressionists, Rauschenberg introduces surface as a site for reception whereby external and environmental activity change the painting’s content on a second by second basis. In describing Rauschenberg’s White Painting [seven panel] (1951), John Cage characterizes them as “airports for the lights, shadows and particles.” In allowing external factors to “land” on and “take off” of his surfaces, Rauchenberg’s paintings transiently register the infinite plurality of possible content and interpretation. Largely influenced by John Cage’s experimental musical compositions, predicated on chance rather than artistic will, Rauchenberg’s reinterpretation of the surface suggests that the presence of the viewer, and the material reality of the surrounding environment, are as fundamental to the creative process as the artist’s work itself. This exhibition will highlight some of Rauchenberg’s works that best allude to surface as a space of tension where external factors are received and projected, but are never allowed to penetrate the canvas. The exhibition will conclude by offering a suggestion of Rauschenberg’s influence on his contemporaries as well as future artists.