STOA

Robert Rauschenberg

Various images are represented on the surface of STOA, which is covered in a number of places by fabric and papers, by means of solvent transfer using a lithographic press. There is no apparent reason for the choice of images other than artistic judgement, however the character of the images extends across the range previously employed by the artist.

Works in this medium at this time are related, and possibly preparatory, to the series of approximately 95 ‘Spreads' which Rauschenberg made between 1976 and 1981, which in turn are related to earlier series such as the celebrated Combines.

When the first examples in the series of ‘Spreads' were exhibited at the Castelli and Sonnabend Galleries in New York in April-May 1977 William Zimmer wrote in Arts Magazine that ‘In recent years the artist has left everything out, the "Jammers" being the prime example. Perhaps stimulated by his retrospective and the heady full painting of his trailblazing days, Rauschenberg has put everything in again' (‘Robert Rauschenberg', Arts Magazine, vol.52, Sept. 1977, p.33). Rauschenberg held a retrospective exhibition at the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. in October 1976 until January 1977. The ‘Jammer' series, exhibited there, consisted of very spare works, generally simple blocks of colour fabric, held against the wall by poles. It is suggested that the ‘Spreads' were produced in reaction against such astringency.

Artist
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008)
Title
STOA
Medium
Mixed media on paper (Solvent transfer, fabric and paper collage)
Date
1980
Size
30 1/2 x 22 3/4 in : 77.5 x 57.8 cm
Inscriptions
Signed and dated upper right
Provenance
Hokin Gallery, Palm Beach (Inv. # C3-86029); James Goodman Gallery, New York; Waddington Galleries, London (Inv. # B16992); Jan Krugier Gallery, New York; Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, New York; Private Collection, USA; thence by descent to the previous owner
Reference
A18-24
Status
No Longer Available

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