Gagosian Gallery will present an exhibition of six early works by Robert Rauschenberg from the Cy Twombly Foundation, opening April 25 at 980 Madison Avenue. The show coincides with the centennial of Rauschenberg’s birth and runs alongside a Marcel Duchamp exhibition in the gallery’s new ground-floor space. The featured works, including a rare 1950 sculpture and the photogram *Untitled (1950)*, were preserved by Cy Twombly, reflecting the close friendship and artistic exchange between the two artists who met in 1951 at the Art Students League of New York and later traveled together through Europe and North Africa.
This exhibition matters because it highlights a formative period in Rauschenberg’s career through works that survived his early, often-destroyed output, offering rare insight into his development before his famous 'Combines.' The partnership between Gagosian and the Cy Twombly Foundation underscores the enduring legacy of both artists and the institutional importance of preserving early, fragile works. The simultaneous Duchamp exhibition also signals Gagosian’s expansion into a historic Madison Avenue space, reinforcing its role in presenting major 20th-century art.