The latest career survey of Robert Rauschenberg's work at Tate Modern (until 2 April), which tours in 2017 to the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, seeks to capture a multi-faceted artist, active for six decades and always on the move, geographically and temperamentally. The exhibition will satisfy those in search of Rauschenberg’s biggest hits. It includes a White Painting from the early 1950s; the Erased de Kooning drawing of 1953, an emblem of an era beyond Abstract Expressionism; Monogram (1955-59), the stuffed angora goat; and the Combines of the early 1960s, which are paintings, collages and sculptures at once.
Also at Tate Modern is The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection (until 7 May 2017). “The Tate has never organised an exhibition focusing exclusively on early 20th-century photography,” says Shoair Mavlian, the show’s co-curator. “The show features more than 70 artists, ranging from well-known names such as Man Ray to lesser known figures such as the US photographer Margaret de Patta,” she adds. The timeframe of the exhibition runs from around 1920 to 1950, with thematic sections focusing on areas such as portraiture, still-life and experiments. The exhibition also highlights innovations such as photomontage and double exposure.
Head up river to see Rachel Maclean: Wot U :-) About? at Tate Britain (until 2 April 2017). The young Glasgow-based artist, who will represent Scotland at the Venice Biennale next year, rages against the machine with her latest hyperactive video installation. Using prosthetics and a green screen, Maclean plays all the roles in a bubble-gum universe of her making, where emoji-like figures live on a diet of social media likes, data and coffee. But dependency on technology has a dark side, as the selfie goddess falls victim to cable-gnawing rats and Insta-trolls.
