Robert Rauschenberg foundation donates three sculptures to shared Tate and National Galleries of Scotland collection

Three key works by Robert Rauschenberg will go on show at Tate Modern in London as part of a new display devoted to the influential late US sculptor (20 September-December 2027). The sculptures were donated by the Robert Rauschenberg foundation to the Artist Rooms collection, which is jointly shared by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).

The three pieces donated to Artist Rooms are part of a series called Gluts: G-I Glut (1986), Rasputin's Revenge Early Winter Glut (1987) and Mobile Cluster Glut (Neapolitan) (1987). The works reflect the rise of consumer culture, with Rauschenberg commenting that “it’s a time of glut. Greed is rampant. I’m just trying to expose it, trying to wake people up.”

“These three Gluts, forged from the remnants of a particular moment, ask us to look squarely at what we value and what we discard. Collaboration and intentionality were central to the artist’s ethos,” said Courtney J. Martin, executive director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, in a statement.

According to Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, which co-represents the foundation, The Gluts represent one of “Rauschenberg’s earliest forays into a new material, metal, in the form of found objects assembled and riveted together to create wall reliefs and freestanding sculptures.”

The Artist Rooms founding collection was established through The d'Offay Donation in 2008 from London art dealer Anthony d’Offay, with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.

Although described by the Tate as a “donation”, the collection was offered as a tax efficient sale/gift hybrid and d’Offay was paid £26.5m for 725 works valued at £125m (both Tate and NGS permanently cut ties with d’Offay in 2020 relating to sexual harassment allegations from 2018, which he denies).

Gregor Muir, Tate’s collection director, stresses that works in the Artist Rooms collection are not only shown in Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland’s own galleries but are also made available to art organisations across the UK.