Rauschenberg Residency

07/06/2021

Deborah Roberts (AIR, March 2019) critiques notions of beauty, the body, race, and identity in contemporary society through the lens of Black children. An Austin native, her first solo museum exhibition in Texas, “I'm,” is part of The Contemporary Austin's participation in the Feminist Art Coalition, a nationwide initiative of art institutions to generate awareness of feminist thought, experience, and action through exhibitions and events. Deborah presents a selection of new collages and paintings, interactive sound, text, and video sculpture.

In tandem, the museum commissioned Deborah to create an outdoor mural on the exterior of the Jones Center building, which she titled “Little man, little man” after writer and activist James Baldwin’s children’s book, “Little Man, Little Man,” which articulates the joys and struggles of Black childhood through the adventures of a four-year-old boy in Harlem.

Open through August 15, the exhibition will then travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

Photo by Mark Poucher Photography, 2019.

03/08/2021

After an intensive year of preparation, work has commenced on the Climate Change Adaptation Plan at the Rauschenberg Residency. The integrated planning approach takes into account wastewater, landscape and buildings. The first phase focuses on landscape and, among other aspects, returning manicured lawn to coastal meadow.

Pictured is the Weeks Field, less than a foot about sea level, which is subject to frequent flooding and water incursion that impedes the residency’s ability to operate smoothly; the design will embrace water as it creates new ecosystems welcoming back native flora and fauna that the island has not seen in a century. Stay tuned!

03/03/2021

The experimental film “Egungun: Ancestor Can’t Find Me” by Cauleen Smith (AIR Sept '16) is screening this week at The Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. The film was shot during her residency. It will be showing at the Museum until March 11th, 2021.

Photo by Mark Poucher, 2016. Cauleen's studio and work in progress

https://www.srqmagazine.com/srq-daily/2021-02-19/16292_The-Ringling-Gets-Real-with-Video-Exhibition

02/10/2021

This February, The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance will be live-streaming BURST!, the creation of Gesel Mason (AIR, Nov '19). BURST! is an extension of Mason’s project YES, AND, which was developed, in part, during her residency. Her latest rendition uses contemporary dance and movement techniques to unravel our current perceptions of self and society amidst the ever-changing landscape of our current moment.

This production runs virtually February 25-27, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. Don't miss it!

Learn more:

burst! is part of an ongoing investigation by Gesel Mason that seeks to reimagine our identities and create space for individual voices to impact our collective community. Using contemporary dance and movement techniques, burst! is developed as an extension of Masons project Yes, And.

12/17/2020

Deana Lawson (AIR Aug ’19) has been awarded the Hugo Boss Prize 2020. She is the first artist working in photography to receive the biennial prize, which was established in 1996. Her work will be presented in a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, NY, in 2021. Administered by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and made possible by HUGO BOSS, the prize recognizes significant achievement in contemporary art and carries an award of $100,000. Deana was selected from a shortlist of six finalists that included artist Kevin Beasley (AIR Nov ’16).

Deana’s work examines the body’s ability to channel personal and social histories, addressing themes of familial legacy, community, desire, and religious-spiritual aesthetics. Her practice borrows from simultaneous visual traditions, ranging from photographic and figurative portraiture, social documentary, and vernacular family album photographs. She is visually inspired by the materiality of Black culture and its expression as seen through the body and in domestic environments. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Photo by Nathan Venzara (2019)

12/09/2020

The first Asia Society Triennial, “We Do Not Dream Alone,” reflects the diversity of contemporary art from Asia and the diaspora. It celebrates the rich tapestry of Asian cultures that comprise a significant yet historically undeserved demographic within NYC.

Composed of a multi-venue exhibition, interdisciplinary panels, forums, and performances, at various venues, work by Minouk Lim (January '18) is included in Part 1, October 27 – February 7, and Dinh Q. Lê (August '16) will be in Part 2, March 16 – June 27, both at the Asia Society Museum.

Minouk Lim is an artist of many forms, who creates works beyond the boundary of different genres and media, deepening the scope of questions while encompassing writing, music, video, installation and performance as her means of artistic expression. She is based in Seoul, South Korea.

Vietnamese American artist Dinh Q. Lê is known for his work in photography, video, and installation. He often splices, interweaves, and distorts photographs to explore his own relationship to Vietnam’s complicated cultural and political history. He works in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Los Angeles, CA.

1-2. Minouk in the Main Studio. 3. Dinh in the Main Studio. 4. Dinh at the Fish House with his catch of the day. Photos by Mark Poucher

11/12/2020

“Tearing at the Fabric of Your Reality,” a solo exhibition by George Bolster (Oct ‘13) opens at Ulterior Gallery, NYC, November 14 with an opening reception from 2 to 6pm. After several years of research at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, the New York-based Irish multimedia artist has developed a body of work that suggests a guide for the future evolution of human beings. Through his research into the possible existence of extraterrestrial life forms, George began to envision a future for art and culture beyond borders, perhaps beyond the earth itself.

The main pieces in this exhibition are three large textiles in which he merges the visible and invisible onto the same sphere, challenging us to imagine (the first step in working toward) a radically different future.

For five days during the exhibition, December 1-5, the entire gallery installation will change to Ulterior and George’s NADA Miami 2020 physical presentation. This short-term presentation was carefully planned to be juxtaposed with and nestle within the larger exhibition. For the five days of the fair, George will present a wall-scale panoramic tapestry of Grand Stairs Escalante in Utah—an at-risk National Monument under the current president.

George has exhibited at numerous museums and galleries internationally. Through oppositional narratives, his work addresses ideas and belief systems from multiple perspectives, using a combination of science, art history, and science fiction to examine our most pressing societal and species-wide challenges.

The exhibition runs through December 20, 2020. Ulterior is located at 172 Attorney St, NYC, www.ulteriorgallery.com

Photo by Laurie Lambrecht, 2013

10/30/2020

If you are anywhere near St. Petersburg (Florida) over the next month, consider a must-see detour to the Museum of Fine Arts to view “Derrick Adams: Buoyant,” his first solo museum exhibition in the Southeast; the MFA St. Pete is its final stop.
Derrick Adams (AIR, June 2019) examines the power of popular culture on one’s self-image, and mines his personal, as well as broader, African American histories to celebrate under-recognized aspects of Black life. The NYC-based multidisciplinary artist works in performance, video, sound, paint, textile- and paper-based collage, and multimedia sculpture.

This exhibition features the artist’s Floaters series created between 2016-2019, where the Baltimore-born artist depicts Black men, women, and children relaxing on bright blue waters in colorful plastic floaties. There are no architectural or landscape references in the paintings, emphasizing a calm sense of buoyancy. The inaugural opening of Buoyant was at the Hudson River Museum in Westchester, NY and was accompanied by an immersive installation, “We Came to Party and Plan,” created during Derrick’s residency in Captiva.

Inspired by a 1967 Ebony magazine article and photo spread focused on Dr. Martin Luther King’s Jamaican vacation, Derrick creates a more accurate and fuller presentation of Black life that reclaims lost histories of leisure. The Floaters series also debunks cultural stereotypes of Black people’s relationship with swimming and may evoke memories of a time when Black people in recreational water was not a welcomed sight as pools and beaches remained segregated. By broaching these missing conversations, images, and histories, Derrick confirms a broadened representation of Black life that is imperative to beginning to understand just how much has been left out.

“Derrick Adams: Buoyant” is open through November 29.
https://mfastpete.org/exh/derrick-adams/

Photo by Mark Poucher

10/23/2020

“Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration” at MoMA PS1 features work by people in prisons and by nonincarcerated artists concerned with state repression, erasure, and imprisonment. The show highlights 35+ artists, including four RR artists: Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick (Mar ’15), Maria Gaspar (Apr ’18), and Jesse Krimes (Nov ’19). Maria and Jesse also received RRF Artist as Activist fellowship grants.

From various sites of freedom or unfreedom, these artists devise strategies for visualizing, mapping, and making physically present the impact and scale of life under penal conditions.
The exhibition has been updated to reflect the growing COVID-19 crisis in US prisons, featuring new works by exhibition artists made in response to this ongoing emergency. Alongside the exhibition, a series of public programs, education initiatives, and ongoing projects explore the social and cultural impact of mass incarceration. Marking Time is organized by guest curator Dr. Nicole R. Fleetwood, Professor of American Studies and Art History at Rutgers University. It closes in April 4, 2021. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5208?

Photos by Sage Sohier, Mark Poucher, Joe Frantz

10/16/2020

Congratulations to MacArthur Foundation 2020 Fellows! Ralph Lemon (AIR, Jun 16) is included in this year’s outstanding list of 21 writers, artists, scientists and academics who are honored for their “exceptional creativity” and will receive $625,000 unrestricted funds over five years. Ralph is a visual artist, writer, choreographer, and curator who develops intellectually rigorous and experimental performances that are as socially and politically resonant as they are personal.

Ralph participated in the Family Residency, along with his partner and youngest child. This residency format allows artists to work uninterrupted each workday as the children enjoy age-appropriate activities overseen by two full-time caregivers. We look forward to hosting artist families again in Summer 2022!

Photo: Mark Poucher

10/08/2020

Congratulations to Senga Nengudi (AIR, Jan 17) recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences! The Academy's members represent today’s innovative thinkers in every field of human endeavor—examining new ideas and addressing issues of importance to the nation and the world.

As a sculptor, performance, and installation artist, Senga's work is ephemeral in nature. Using the skills of improvisation and making do with what is at hand, she is persistent in her response to the moment. Senga often utilizes humble, discarded, castaway materials in the belief, as with disenfranchised humans, they may be transformed into poetic entities. Her work says “yes” to all those who have been told “no” by the majority.

Photo by Mark Poucher

10/01/2020

Warm (and belated) congratulations to Dorothy Burge (AIR Jun ’19), a social justice art quilter, activist and co-founder of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials. Dorothy, one of 11 awardees of the Field Foundation of Illinois’ 2020 Leaders for a New Chicago, was cited as, “One of the strongest voices in Chicago for police accountability and reparations for survivors of police torture, Burge amplifies the voices of survivors and of activists in the movement.” The Chicago Justice Torture Memorials also received an RRF Artist as Activist award in 2017.

Photo by Mark Poucher