Robin Rhode engages photography, performance, drawing, and sculpture in creating visual narratives that are brought to life using quotidian materials such as soap, charcoal, chalk, and paint.
Rhode came of age in the newly post-apartheid South Africa and was exposed to new forms of creative expression motivated by the spirit of the individual rather than dictated by a political or social agenda. The growing influence of hip hop, film, and popular sports on youth culture as well as the community’s reliance on storytelling in the form of colorful murals encouraged the development of Rhode’s hybrid street-based aesthetic.
Rhode is best known for his photographic series that document a sole protagonist interacting with murals the artist painted on public walls in Johannesburg and Berlin. In the succession of photographs, the movements of the actor appear to alter the two-dimensional renderings, compressing space and time and transforming the urban landscape into a fictional storyboard. Melding individual expressionism with broader socioeconomic concerns, Rhode’s work reveals a mastery of illusion, a rich range of historical and contemporary references, and an innate skill for blending high and low art forms.
Using the street corner as his studio, Principle of Hope is photographed against a ruined wall in a township in Johannesburg. Here, the glimmer of an answer resides in geometry – the necessary illusion of perfectibility. A spiral wall is rendered in painted grey tones to create the visual impression of heavy stacked concrete bricks. The painted concrete spiral evolves upwards towards a blue sky, a metaphor for an imaginary utopia. Moving between abstract speculation and visceral record, the artwork takes as a point of reference the philosopher Ernst Bloch’s book published in three volumes in the 1950s titled The Principle of Hope in which the author explores utopian impulses present in art, literature, religion and other forms of cultural expression, and envisages a future state of absolute perfection.
Find original Robin Rhode art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Lehmann Maupin)
$2,400Sale Price|20% Off
"Wall of Water" by Robin Rhode (Photograph, Performance, Graphic, Graffiti)
By Robin Rhode
Located in New York, NY
One chromogenic print, 2015, from the edition of 27, signed on a label that accompanies the print, sheet: 770 by 770 mm, 30 1/4 by 30 1/4 inches. Published by Lincoln Center for the ...
C Print
$380
H 7.88 in W 7.88 in D 0.04 in
Girl Nude (29 Palms, CA) - Polaroid, Contemporary, 20th Century
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Girl Nude (29 Palms, CA) - 1999 20x20cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid, Signature label and Certificate. Artist inventory Number ...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$962
H 33.47 in W 33.47 in D 1.97 in
Fish and Chips Van Square, Haddenham - English Vintage Countryside Color Photo
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
A classic British fish & chips van, on a classic English day Haddenham Steam Rally Country Fair, photograph by Richard Heeps. This artwork is a limited edition of 25 gloss phot...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$904
H 30.01 in W 30.01 in
Cryo IX by Luca Marziale - Landscape photography, Abraham Lake, Canada, ice
By Luca Marziale
Located in Paris, FR
Cryo IX is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Luca Marziale. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 2 dimensions: *76.2 cm × 76.2 cm ...
C Print
$4,000
H 31.5 in W 30.71 in D 0.04 in
Contemporary, Figurative, Polaroid, analog, 21st Century, photograph, Movie
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Heather (The Girl behind the White Picket Fence) - 2013 80x78cm, Edition 1/5. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist and based on the original Polaroid. Certificate and Sign...
Polaroid, Color, C Print, Photographic Paper, Archival Paper
$904
H 30.01 in W 30.01 in
Strata XI by Luca Marziale - Contemporary fine art photography, landscape, vivid
By Luca Marziale
Located in Paris, FR
Strata XI is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Luca Marziale. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 2 dimensions: *76.2 cm × 76.2 c...
C Print
$3,857
H 23.63 in W 16.54 in
Omnia Vanitas No.2 by Ronald Martinez - Fine art photography, still life, skull
Located in Paris, FR
Omnia Vanitas No.2 is a limited-edition photograph by French contemporary artist Ronald Martinez. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in one size: *60...
Photographic Paper, C Print
$962
H 33.47 in W 39.38 in D 1.97 in
Mother India II, Delhi - India Multi-Color Street Photograph of Books
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
Mother India, photograph from Richard Heeps series 'The Ambassador's Window', a pilgrimage from Kerala in the South to Meerut in the North, the birthplace of his Grandfather. As boo...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$904
H 30.01 in W 30.01 in
Strata XVII by Luca Marziale - Contemporary fine art photography, landscape
By Luca Marziale
Located in Paris, FR
Strata XVII is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Luca Marziale. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 2 dimensions: *76.2 cm × 76.2...
C Print
$904
H 30.01 in W 30.01 in
Strata XIII by Luca Marziale - Contemporary fine art photography, landscape
By Luca Marziale
Located in Paris, FR
Strata XIII is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Luca Marziale. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 2 dimensions: *76.2 cm × 76.2...
C Print
$904
H 30.01 in W 30.01 in
Strata III by Luca Marziale - Contemporary fine art photography, vivid landscape
By Luca Marziale
Located in Paris, FR
Strata III is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Luca Marziale. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 2 dimensions: *76.2 cm × 76.2 ...
C Print
$5,183
H 18.12 in W 27.56 in
Omnia Vanitas No.5 by Ronald Martinez - Fine art photography, still life, apple
Located in Paris, FR
Omnia Vanitas No.5 is a limited-edition photograph by French contemporary artist Ronald Martinez. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in one size: *46...
Photographic Paper, C Print
$5,183
H 23.63 in W 17.33 in
Divine Nude No.29 by Ronald Martinez - Fine art photography, Renaissance, woman
Located in Paris, FR
Divine Nude No.29 is a limited-edition photograph by French contemporary artist Ronald Martinez. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 2 dimensions: ...
Photographic Paper, C Print