Robin Rhode
Borne Frieze
Lehmann Maupin Gallery New York
Until August 21, 2015
Chalk Bike, 2015, installation view
About:
Inspired by his South African heritage, Rhode titled the exhibition Borne Frieze, an adaptation of the commonly used phrase “Born Frees,” a moniker given to the generation born after the end of Apartheid in 1994. Rhode, who came of age during this period, often investigates the contrast between old ideals and new desires and imbues his works with a sense of freedom and change that is evocative of this time. Building on the artist’s frequent use of visual and verbal puns, Borne Frieze creates a bridge between the political heritage of his home country and the energy, spontaneity, and ephemerality of his artistic practice, which has long included the wall drawing as a key form. By bringing an object, idea, or action forth (borne) to a medium central to Rhode’s practice such as the wall (frieze), the artist evokes the improvisational and vibrant nature of his work.
Light Giver, Light Taker, 2015, installation view.
Evidence, 2015.
Evidence, 2015, detail.
Despite his range of visual approaches, Rhode views drawing as a fundamental aspect of his practice and of all art making. The basic elements of drawing such as immediacy, gesture, economy of means, and rhythm are consistently reflected in all of his work and form the core of this exhibition. Several new works that embody Rhode’s cross-disciplinary vision incorporate sculptural elements as tools to create drawings. In Light Giver Light Taker and Chalk Bike, Rhode expands the idea of what can be used as a drawing instrument by utilizing unconventional objects to make marks, here in sweeping, performative gestures, on the gallery’s walls and floor. Whether a life-size bicycle in Chalk Bike or larger-than-life chalk and charcoal light bulbs in Light Giver Light Taker, Rhode believes that using such tools equates to a form of animism, or imbuing such inanimate objects with a soul. Rhode “activates” these objects to create his drawings, and they remain in the gallery as a monument to the actions performed. Rhode’s drawings, like his performances and other actions, are ephemeral and these traces left behind are not meant to be permanent.
In addition to his Lehmann Maupin exhibition, Rhode will present Drawing Waves at The Drawing Center in New York until August 30, 2015.
Borne Frieze, 2015, installation view.
About the Artist
Robin Rhode (b. 1976, Cape Town, South Africa) was raised in Johannesburg. His first major museum solo show was at Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany in 2007, and Rhode has since had major solo exhibitions at a number of museums around the world including the Hayward Gallery, London (2008); the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio (2009); the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2010); the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (2013); and the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York (2014). He has participated in notable group exhibitions including New Photography, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2005); the 51st Venice Biennale (2005); Staging Action: Performance in Photography Since 1960, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2011); and the 2012 Sydney Biennale. His work is included in numerous public collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Castello di Rivoli, Turin; Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. The artist lives and works in Berlin, Germany. (text gallery)