Three Works donated to ARTIST ROOMS by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to go on Display at Tate
Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland today announced that the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has donated three of the artist’s renowned sculptures to ARTIST ROOMS.
Jointly shared by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland, the ARTIST ROOMS collection is used to stage free touring exhibitions at museums and galleries across the UK. The works will initially be shown at Tate Modern this September as part of a large-scale new display devoted to this foundational figure in the history of early contemporary art, extending the centennial celebrations marking 100 years since the artist’s birth.
One of the most influential American artists of the post-war era, Robert Rauschenberg blurred the boundary between art and life. He often integrated everyday objects into his work, including Coca-Cola signs, ironing boards and newspaper clippings. The three sculptures being donated to ARTIST ROOMS are part of a series he called Gluts: G-I Glut 1986, Rasputin's Revenge Early Winter Glut 1987, and Mobile Cluster Glut (Neapolitan) 1987. Made from salvaged scrap metal and taking their inspiration from the abandoned gas stations, cars and machinery that dotted the Texan landscape in the wake of the 1980s oil surplus, Rauschenberg saw these sculptures as a stark warning about consumer culture. He commented ‘It’s a time of glut. Greed is rampant. I’m just trying to expose it, trying to wake people up.’
The three Gluts generously donated by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation will be shown at Tate Modern in a new free display from 20 September 2026 to the end of 2027. This solo show will bring together over 25 works from across the artist’s career, including paintings, sculptures, prints, and his unique kinetic and light works, drawing from Tate’s collection and loans from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. The display will also feature rarely screened film documentation of Rauschenberg’s performances and collaborations with celebrated choreographers Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown. It builds on Tate’s enduring relationship with the artist, from the first acquisition of a silkscreen painting in 1969 to the major retrospective staged in 2016.
Main Image: Robert Rauschenberg, Rasputin's Revenge Early Winter Glut 1987. © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Photo: Ron Amstutz