Opening Reception - Robert Rauschenberg: Real Time

×

Expand

Image courtesy of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Image courtesy of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Robert Rauschenberg: Real Time is part of the centennial celebration of the artist. Hosted in South Florida, the state Rauschenberg called home from 1970 until his death in 2008, the exhibition is funded by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation as part of a global museum initiative.

Known as an enfant terrible who radically eroded the boundaries between art and life, Robert Rauschenberg experimented with new technologies, collaborated with contemporary dancers and composers, and breathed new life into printmaking. The exhibition features 27 experimental works from the NSU Art Museum collection, Charles Atlas’s films of Rauschenberg’s collaborations with choreographer Merce Cunningham, and rare early photographs by Rauschenberg on loan from the Fredrick R. Weisman Art Foundation.

As part of the opening celebration, choreographer Damaris Ferrer will activate her work The Crossings, a collaborative action that sets into motion the simple act of connecting to self and others.

Damaris Ferrer is a multi-disciplinary artist, mover, teacher, and choreographer whose movement language was formed through the technical foundations of classical ballet, Graham technique, classical Spanish Dance, Limon technique, Flamenco, and world folk dances. In 2019, she began teaching for the dance program at Nova Southeastern University, and she has just been awarded an Artist Support grant from Broward County for her new work, which will premiere in September 2026.

Robert Rauschenberg’s strong conviction that engagement with art can nurture people’s sensibilities as individuals, community members, and citizens was key to his ethos. The centennial celebrations seek to allow audiences familiar with him and those encountering the artist for the first time to form fresh perspectives about his art-work.

A year of global activities and exhibitions reexamines the artist through a contemporary lens, highlighting his enduring influence on generations of artists and advocates for social progress. The centennial’s activation of the artist’s legacy promotes cross-disciplinary explorations and creates opportunities for critical dialogue.