Robert Rauschenberg launched a major cultural exchange initiative to promote artistic expression as a means of fostering understanding between cultures between 1984 and 1991. The Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI), named after the artist’s pet turtle and pronounced “Rocky,” highlights the artist’s belief that art can be a catalyst for positive social change and travel’s role as a major influence on his signature experimental approach to materials and techniques.

Dedicated to bringing art to communities around the world, he established the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) in 1984. This included a six-year traveling exhibition organized by the artist, whose works changed at each venue with an addition of works influenced by the country visited.

This body of work and programme are the subject of a fantastic exhibition presented in the spectacular space of Thaddeus Ropac gallery in Mayfair, London until 15th June 2024. Robert Rauschenberg imparted a legacy of innovation that continues to engage generations of artists, and although he eluded defining affiliations, his interdisciplinary practice positioned him at the forefront of nearly every artistic movement following Abstract Expressionism.

“If the attitude of ROCI is going to work, we are dependent on a one-to-one contact with as many people as possible because the most dangerous weapon we have is a lack of understanding.” – Robert Rauschenberg, said in 1986 about the project.

The show features works on canvas, sculptures, cardboard, neon lights, photogravures, textiles, and an early example of the artist’s metal painting on the ground floor and first floor of the gallery. It spans the entirety of the seven years of ROCI’s intense creative productivity.

This is the first gallery survey devoted to ROCI since the project’s completion in 1991, featuring works straight from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Archival documents are used to contextualise the ROCI pieces, many of which are also exhibited publicly for the first time since the project’s conclusion. Included are a few of the black-and-white images that the artist used for the silkscreen images in the ROCI works. These images were acquired throughout his travels and served as source material. Don’t miss this fantastic show!

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