The first comprehensive exhibition of Robert Rauschenberg’s Japanese clayworks brings together rarely seen works from two formative series which represented a major innovation in the artist's practice from 1982 onwards.

The Japanese Clayworks feature sculptural elements reminiscent of Rauschenberg’s Combines and Spreads, photographic imagery of ancient and modern Japan and gestural brushstrokes. For his Japanese Recreational Clayworks, Rauschenberg applied reproductions of historical icons from Western art, his own photographs of contemporary Japan and gestural brushwork to ceramic panels.

This exhibition is presented in cooperation with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Two other gallery exhibitions coincide with Japanese Clayworks at Thaddaeus Ropac Salzburg: Robert Rauschenberg: Venetians and Early Egyptians, 1972–1974 at Gladstone Gallery, New York (4 May – 18 June 2022) and Robert Rauschenberg: Exceptional Works, 1971–1999 at Mnuchin Gallery, New York (3 May – 11 June, 2022). For further information on the mission and programs of the Foundation, visit www.rauschenbergfoundation.org. and follow them on Instagram at @rauschenbergfoundation.