Three Robert Rauschenberg Sculptures Have Been Donated To The Tate And National Galleries Of Scotland
2July 15, 2026
TheRobert Rauschenberg Foundationhas donated three sculptures by the artist from his“Gluts”series, 1986–89/1991–94, to Artist Rooms, acollectionjointly managed by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland. The pieces will be on view at theTate Modernlater this year, extending 2025’s centennial celebration of Rauschenberg’s birth.
Launched in 2008, Artist Rooms is a collection of modern and contemporary art featuring the bodies of work of overforty international artists. It has staged over 200 exhibitions at nearly one hundred UK venues, attracting around 60 million visitors. The trio of pieces gifted to the collection includesG-I Glut, 1986,Rasputin’s Revenge Early Winter Glut, 1987, andMobile Cluster Glut (Neapolitan), 1987.
Created from salvaged scrap metal from gas station signs and automobiles, the “Gluts” series was Rauschenberg’s response to what he perceived as rampant consumer culture in the US, at a time when the country was facing an economic crisis in the 1980s during an oil glut. The artist was inspired to create wall reliefs and freestanding sculptures from scrap metal after observing abandoned gas stations, cars and machinery during a 1985 visit to Texas amid the oil surplus. “These three Gluts, forged from the remnants of a particular moment, ask us to look squarely at what we value and what we discard,” said Executive Director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Courtney J. Martin, in a press release.
The Rauschenberg sculptures will be part of a new free display at Tate Modern running from September 20 of this year until the end of 2027. The upcoming showcase unites over twenty-five works from across the artist’s career, including paintings, sculptures, and prints, alongside kinetic and light works, drawing from Tate’s collection and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. It will also incorporate films documenting Rauschenberg’s performances and collaborations with choreographers Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown.