This fall marks a century since Robert Rauschenberg was born in Texas, and the art world is celebrating the milestone with exhibitions honoring the Pop art pioneer who became one of America's most renowned artists of his era. Museums and galleries around the globe are planning shows that pay tribute to Rauschenberg's expansive creativity, insatiable curiosity, and unwavering commitment to artistic change.
The Guggenheim Museum on New York City's Upper East Side will present a major exhibition titled "Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can't Be Stopped," running from October 10, 2025, through April 5, 2026. This comprehensive show will showcase more than a dozen historic pieces that reflect the artist's radical legacy, including his monumental painting "Barge."
The Guggenheim's exhibition will draw from the museum's own extensive collection as well as loans from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. The show focuses specifically on the artist's groundbreaking experiments with incorporating photographs into drawing, painting, and printmaking. Rauschenberg's revolutionary use of media imagery and commercial printing techniques led art critics to associate him with Pop artists such as Andy Warhol.
Like Warhol, Rauschenberg was deeply fascinated with contemporary culture and sought to blur the boundaries between art and everyday life. As he once explained to an interviewer, "I want paintings to be reflections of life, and life can't be stopped" – a philosophy that perfectly encapsulates his artistic approach and serves as the inspiration for the exhibition's title.
Among the highlights of the Guggenheim show is the spectacular 32-foot-long silkscreen painting "Barge," which was remarkably created mostly over a 24-hour period in the early 1960s. This massive work demonstrates Rauschenberg's incredible energy and spontaneous creative process. The exhibition also features an untitled silkscreen painting from 1963 that marked a significant turning point in his career by introducing vibrant color into his previously more monochromatic work.
One of the earliest pieces in the exhibition is "Untitled (Red Painting)" from 1953, in which the artist layered bright red paint over collaged newspaper, showing his early experimentation with mixed media techniques. Other works in the show illustrate how Rauschenberg's transfer methods and artistic techniques evolved and became more sophisticated over the decades.
The relationship between the Guggenheim and Rauschenberg spans many years and multiple exhibitions. The museum first included the artist in a group show in 1961, recognizing his emerging importance in the contemporary art scene. Just two years later, in 1963, the Guggenheim featured him in "Six Painters and the Object," which holds the distinction of being the first museum exhibition of Pop art in New York City.
In 1997, the Guggenheim presented what was then the most comprehensive retrospective of Rauschenberg's career to date. This landmark exhibition was so extensive that it spanned multiple locations, including the museum's main building on Fifth Avenue, the former Guggenheim SoHo, and a satellite gallery on Hudson Street, demonstrating the breadth and scope of the artist's prolific output.
"Robert Rauschenberg's centennial is not only a moment to honor his legacy but also a call to renew our commitment to the radical curiosity and spirit of collaboration that defined his life and work," said Courtney J. Martin, Executive Director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, in a press release. "The Guggenheim has been a vital partner in sustaining that legacy."
Visitors to the Guggenheim during this period can also experience Rashid Johnson's "A Poem for Deep Thinkers," which features an extraordinary hanging garden installation. This complementary exhibition will remain on view through January 18, 2026, providing additional artistic experiences for museum visitors.
The Rauschenberg centennial exhibition represents not just a celebration of one artist's achievements, but also an opportunity to reflect on the continuing influence of his innovative approaches to art-making. His willingness to experiment with new materials, techniques, and concepts helped reshape the art world and continues to inspire contemporary artists today.
