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
$1,800
H 22.84 in W 22.45 in D 0.04 in
Narween (Saigon) - vintage, Contemporary, Polaroid, Analog, Photograph
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Narween (Saigon) - 2003 58x56cm, Edition 4/5. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist, based on the original Polaroid. Artist inventory Number 469.04. Signature labe and Cert...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid
$4,554
H 23.63 in W 15.75 in
Divine Nude No.50 by Ronald Martinez - Fine art photography, Renaissance, man
By Ronald Martinez
Located in Paris, FR
Divine Nude No.50 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: ...
C Print, Photographic Paper
$245
H 15.75 in W 18.51 in D 1.38 in
Ice Cream Truck, Wildwood, New Jersey - Color Pop Art Photography Print
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
Ice Cream Truck, vibrant street photography from the seaside town of Wildwood, from Richard Heeps Jersey Shore series. This artwork is a limited edition of 25 gloss photographic pri...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$244
H 15.75 in W 18.51 in D 1.38 in
Milkshakes, Welkom - South African Summer Color Photography Small Framed Print
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
The saturated blue sky and the seductive milkshakes make you feel as if you are sitting in the car at this "Americana style" Roadhouse in Welkom, South Africa. It is typical of Richa...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$14,500
H 30 in W 32 in
Procession #3, Contemporary Gold Leaf on C-Print Painting by Paul Vinet
By Paul Vinet
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Paul Vinet Title: Procession #3 Date: 2008 Medium: Gold Leaf on C-Print mounted on Dibond, signed, dated, and numbered verso Edition 2/3 Dimensions: 30 x 32 inches
Gold Leaf
$244
H 15.75 in W 18.51 in D 1.38 in
Nicely's Café, Mono Lake, California Small Framed American Diner Interior Photo
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
Nicely's Café, American Diner interior photograph from Richard Heeps' series, Dream in Colour, presented with the Kodak film rebate. This artwork is a limited edition of 25 gloss ph...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$244
H 15.75 in W 18.51 in D 1.38 in
Bonanza Café, Lone Pine, California - Small Framed American Diner Interior Photo
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
Bonanza Café, iconic photograph from Richard Heeps Dream in Colour series, it was the cover artwork on his book Man's Ruin. The photo takes you back to small town Americana with the ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$1,518
H 23.63 in W 23.63 in
Boneyard 003 by Bernhard Lang - Aerial view photography, planes, Air Force Base
By Bernhard Lang
Located in Paris, FR
Boneyard 003 is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Bernhard Lang. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 4 dimensions: *60 × 60 cm (2...
C Print
$270
H 4.22 in W 11.11 in D 0.04 in
3 Stefanie Schneider Polaroid sized unlimited Minis 'Radha Mind Screen' - signed
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
3 Stefanie Schneider Polaroid-sized unlimited Minis 'Radha Mind Screen' - 1999 - triptych signed in front, not mounted. 3 Digital Color Photographs based on the 3 Polaroids. 10.7...
Archival Paper, C Print, Color, Lambda, Polaroid
$10,277
H 24.02 in W 24.02 in
Candida Höfer, University Library Hamburg A - Set of 2 Photographs, Signed
By Candida Hofer
Located in Hamburg, DE
Candida Höfer (German, b. 1944) University Library Hamburg A, 2000/02 Medium: Set of 2 c-prints, mounted on Forex Dimensions: each 61 x 61 cm (24 x 24) Edition of 45: Hand-signed and...
C Print
$678
H 30.71 in W 25.01 in D 0.04 in
Lounge Doorway, Parys - Interior Color Photograph
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
Lounge Doorway, interior photograph from Richard Heeps' South African series, The New Lantern. The composition and colours of this atmospheric artwork draw you in to create your own ...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$3,500
H 23.63 in W 31.5 in D 0.12 in
Rosegarden II (Suburbia), analog, mounted - 21st Century, Polaroid, Contemporary
By Stefanie Schneider
Located in Morongo Valley, CA
Rosegarden II (Suburbia) - 2004 Edition 3/5, 60x80cm. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist, based on the original Polaroid, mounted on Aluminum with matte UV-Projection. A...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Polaroid