NEW YORK – Renowned artist Robert Rauschenberg is the subject of Craig F. Starr Associates upcoming show, Robert Rauschenberg Silkscreen Paintings 1962-63. The 8-week show opens March 24 and features paintings made during Rauschenberg’s first year working with silkscreen, a working method that he was introduced to by Andy Warhol in 1962. This exhibition focuses the period between autumn of 1962 to summer of 1963, during which time he worked exclusively in black and white.  With works culled from the collection of the artist and other private collections, this exhibition provides a special opportunity to view these rarely seen early works.

Following on the heels of his Combines series and experimentations with transfer drawings, silkscreen allowed Rauschenberg to work with found images, largely from newspapers and magazines, and to transfer these images onto large-scale canvases.  Intermingled among the images are passages of gestural brushwork, emphasizing the flat surface of the painting and thwarting a reading of the images as narrative elements.  By reusing and recombining the screens, Rauschenberg was able to work within a limited repertoire of images to create paintings that challenged conventional ways of seeing, and, like the Combines, attempted to bridge the divide between art and life.

Born in 1925 in Port Arthur, Texas, Robert Rauschenberg was one of the first artists of his generation to explore new directions in the wake of the dominant movement of the 1950’s, Abstract Expressionism.  Along with Jasper Johns and Cy Twombly and influenced by the composer John Cage, Rauschenberg introduced imagery and content into his art while maintaining important Modernist tenets.  Known for his experimentation in all media, Rauschenberg has been a vital force in performance, set design, choreography and lithography since the 1960’s.  His Combines are the subject of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which runs through April 2^nd.

Craig F. Starr Associates specializes in 19th and 20th Century American and European art. The gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 11:00-5:30 p.m. The Robert Rauschenberg show will run through May 13th. Additional information is available online at www.starr-art.com.