Interviews
Interview with Robin Rhode
Today from our friends at BOMB, we bring you an interview with artist Robin Rhode. Author Lee Ann Norman talks with Rhode about his upcoming performance Erwartung: A Street Opera for Performa 15, growing up in South Africa, and “what it means to make art in an increasingly globalized world.” This article was originally published on August 13, 2015.
Robin Rhode. Chalk Bicycle (detail), 2011-2015; chalk and steel bicycle. Courtesy of the Artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York. Photo: Max Yawney.
Cape Town-born and Berlin-based multidisciplinary artist Robin Rhode works across visual media to interrogate notions of the city and urban landscapes, the individual, and the cultural collective. Rhode was recently announced as a commissioned artist for Performa 15, the biennial of performance art, taking place in New York November 1–22, 2015. For his commission, which is still in the works, Rhode will reinterpret Schoenberg’s 1909 opera Erwartung and build the set using doors reclaimed from his native South Africa. He currently has two exhibitions on view. Borne Frieze, his third solo exhibition at Lehmann Maupin, features new work meant to broaden the possibilities of drawing as a medium. Drawing Waves at the Drawing Center, meanwhile, includes stop-motion photographs and a wall drawing done in collaboration with school children. We spoke recently about the new shows and what it means to make art in an increasingly globalized world.
Robin Rhode: It’s been quite a busy time with my show at Lehmann Maupin opening in June, and before that I came and did a talk at Lincoln Center. And then I had the Drawing Center opening just a few weeks ago, so—
Lee Ann Norman: Did you plan all this intentionally, these wonderful things happening at once? [laughter]
RR: It all just kind of came together. I’ve had a really long relationship with the United States. I’m also working on a commission for Performa. I don’t know if you’re familiar with it.
LAN: Yes, they often work with visual artists, and move their work in a more performative direction.
RR: Exactly. I’m producing an opera for them in November. It’s all just happening at once—unbelievable! [laughter] But where should I start with the exhibitions… Lehmann Maupin?
