Rauschenberg in China

This catalog was published on the occasion of the exhibition Rauschenberg in China at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, June 12-August 21, 2016. It reproduces in full for the first time Rauschenberg’s "The 1/4 Mile or 2 Furlong Piece (1981-98)." This auto-biographical, serial work, comprised of 190 parts, measures the distance between Rauschenberg’s home and studio on Captiva Island in Florida. Also presented were “Study for Chinese Summerhall,” a rare color photography work shot during Rauschenberg’s first trip to Beijing in 1982, and documentation from the Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Exchange or ROCI, during which Rauschenberg became the first Western contemporary artist to exhibit in Mainland China after the Cultural Revolution. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden owns nearly 50 pieces by Rauschenberg, and documentation of the artist’s practice are an essential tool for curators, conservators, educators, and visiting scholars.