Robin Rhode
16 Sep 2007 - 06 Jan 2008
Robin Rhode
Snake Eyes, 2004
Photographic Series of 12 gelatin silver prints
Courtesy Perry Rubenstein Gallery,
New York
Snake Eyes, 2004
Photographic Series of 12 gelatin silver prints
Courtesy Perry Rubenstein Gallery,
New York
Robin Rhode
walk off
16 Sep 07 - 06 Jan 08
robin rhode was born 1976 in cape town and grew up in the south african johannesburg – a city with the highest crime rate in the world. already in 1997 rhode began to work artistically – his source of inspiration and the arena for his art was, and still is today, the street. whether a wall in johannesburg or a pavement in berlin – rhode temporarily occupies surfaces found in public spaces, draws objects with chalk on these and then interacts with the drawings: he draws a bicycle on the floor and tries to push it; he draws a car on a wall and tries to break into it with a crowbar. these unique connections between drawing and performance are characteristic for robin rhode’s art: the imaginary drawn space becomes reality because the artist treats it like reality. a central theme in his art is thereby the common human trait of wishful thinking, a desire for something; in his performance ‘the score’ it is a live appearance of a band: rhode draws trumpet, bass and drum kit on a wall and then ‘plays’ – along to appropriate melodies and sounds that run in the background – on these instruments. through his interaction with the merely imagined and drawn, rhode creates a whole new, artistic reality, which is its own fulfilment: ‘sometimes if you have nothing, you actually have everything.’ (robin rhode)
while rhode’s early works only play with the tangibility of objects, this is redeemed in his sculptural works; they have reached the physical condition of an object. however, rhode only allowed for a limited lifespan: in his work ‘soap and water’ (2007), for example, next to a bicycle made from pastel green soap he places a tin bucket full of water – if you clean the bike it will dissolve into soapy water...
‘walk off’ is robin rhode’s first comprehensive exhibition in Europe. drawings, photographs, animations and sculptures are on display a.o. – complemented by an action room, where rhode will produce a wall drawing and develop a performance together with the dancer jean-baptiste andré and the composer thomas larcher. robin rhode lives and works in berlin and johannesburg.
walk off
16 Sep 07 - 06 Jan 08
robin rhode was born 1976 in cape town and grew up in the south african johannesburg – a city with the highest crime rate in the world. already in 1997 rhode began to work artistically – his source of inspiration and the arena for his art was, and still is today, the street. whether a wall in johannesburg or a pavement in berlin – rhode temporarily occupies surfaces found in public spaces, draws objects with chalk on these and then interacts with the drawings: he draws a bicycle on the floor and tries to push it; he draws a car on a wall and tries to break into it with a crowbar. these unique connections between drawing and performance are characteristic for robin rhode’s art: the imaginary drawn space becomes reality because the artist treats it like reality. a central theme in his art is thereby the common human trait of wishful thinking, a desire for something; in his performance ‘the score’ it is a live appearance of a band: rhode draws trumpet, bass and drum kit on a wall and then ‘plays’ – along to appropriate melodies and sounds that run in the background – on these instruments. through his interaction with the merely imagined and drawn, rhode creates a whole new, artistic reality, which is its own fulfilment: ‘sometimes if you have nothing, you actually have everything.’ (robin rhode)
while rhode’s early works only play with the tangibility of objects, this is redeemed in his sculptural works; they have reached the physical condition of an object. however, rhode only allowed for a limited lifespan: in his work ‘soap and water’ (2007), for example, next to a bicycle made from pastel green soap he places a tin bucket full of water – if you clean the bike it will dissolve into soapy water...
‘walk off’ is robin rhode’s first comprehensive exhibition in Europe. drawings, photographs, animations and sculptures are on display a.o. – complemented by an action room, where rhode will produce a wall drawing and develop a performance together with the dancer jean-baptiste andré and the composer thomas larcher. robin rhode lives and works in berlin and johannesburg.