![\"Artist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767816249_822_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n\u201cRauschenberg at 100: As Large as the World Is\u201d opens in the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery Annex on Jan. 15. The exhibition focuses on the artist\u2019s deep ties to Southwest Florida and features locally produced and privately held works that span several pivotal decades of Rauschenberg\u2019s career. Most have never been exhibited before.<\/p>\n
The exhibition continues the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery\u2019s observance of Rauschenberg\u2019s centenary. He would have turned 100 years old on October 22, 2025. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
Bob Rauschenberg Gallery <\/p>\n
Artist Bob Rauschenberg takes a break during a visit to China in 1982. <\/p>\n
Considered the most consequential American artist of the last half of the 20th century, Rauschenberg maintained his residence and artist studios on Captiva Island from 1968 through his death in 2009.<\/p>\n
The exhibition opens Jan. 15 with a reception and lecture.<\/p>\n
![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767816250_395_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
Bob Rauschenberg stands at foot of pier in front of Fish House on his Captiva compound. <\/p>\n
MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n
The exhibition runs through May 2.<\/p>\n
The title is drawn from the artist\u2019s deeply held belief and profound philosophy on the interconnectedness of local and global perspectives. \u201cFort Myers is as small as your mind is. It can be just as large as the world is,\u201d Rauschenberg once said.<\/p>\n
Included in the exhibition are:<\/p>\n
\u201cAutobiography\u201d (1968): A monumental \u201cself-portrait\u201d triptych created the same year that Rauschenberg purchased his first property and home on Captiva Island.Unique paintings and transfer drawings: featuring original works from Rauschenberg\u2019s acclaimed SPREADS, BOREALIS, ANAGRAM, and RUNT series.The \u201cMOON MUSEUM\u201d ceramic chip: a collective artwork featuring contributions from Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and four other artists.<\/p>\n
![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767816250_492_.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
Bob Rauschenberg Gallery <\/p>\n
Bob Rauschenberg Gallery Director Jade Dellinger displays copy of moon museum ceramic chip.<\/p>\n
A copy of the chip was covertly attached to the Apollo 12 lunar lander and resides to this day on the lunar surface. Rauschenberg once described the moon museum chip as \u201cthe smallest piece I have ever made\u201d and \u201calso the farthest away.\u201d He also stated, \u201cI made a piece that is approx. 1\u201d x \u00bd\u201d [that] was flown to the moon by NASA and stored there for future discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more, hear\/read: \u201cIn 1968, Rauschenberg participated in clandestine operation to land art on the moon.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The exhibition also honors Rauschenberg\u2019s role as a global diplomat. Between 1984 and 1991, he launched the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) at the United Nations. By bringing art to nations such as Cuba, Chile, Tibet, China and the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, Rauschenberg used the creative process to transcend political borders, foster cross-cultural understanding and to promote world peace. As Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz famously remarked, “Robert Rauschenberg was not a giant of American art; he was the giant.”<\/p>\n
For more, hear\/read: \u201cBob Rauschenberg took art to countries where it had been suppressed.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767816251_677_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n