Artist visited for ’98 Butler exhibition

staff report

Robert Rauschenberg visited Youngstown in April of 1998 when the Butler Museum of American Art opened a major exhibition of his work.

Until his death Tuesday, Rauschenberg was the most famous living artist in the world, according to Lou Zona, executive director of the Butler.

“Robert Rauschenberg reinvented the way in which art is made,” said Zona. “He was a creative genius who saw the potential for art in everything. It was said of Rauschenberg that he could be locked in a closet and would come out with a work of art.”

Zona said that one of the greatest moments in the history of the Butler Institute of American Art was the Rauschenberg exhibition of 1998.

“What made it particularly wonderful was the fact that he was here for an entire week installing the show and inspiring all of us with his wit and wisdom,” said Zona.

“I visited with him last month in Florida and was impressed by the fact that despite a stroke which paralyzed part of his body, he was still making exciting art and signing it with his thumbprint. Despite his 82 years, he never lost the curiosity of his childhood and the desire to explore.”

The Butler has 12 Rauschenbergs in its permanent collection.

— Guy D’Astolfo, The Vindicator