Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts 1995
Area of Work: Abstract / Pop Painting
Date: 16 December 1995
Place of Ceremony: Palacio de Bellas Artes
Host Institution: INBA, CONACULTA, Palacio de las Bellas Artes
Host Country: México City, México
Mexico, December 1995. The World Cultural Council presented the 1995 Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts to Mr. Robert Rauschenberg, independent painter, graphic artist and photographer whose theme is a combination of art and life. The Award Ceremony took place at the Palace of Fine Arts in México City.
Mr. Rauschenberg was selected as the recipient of the Award in recognition of his more than 40 years of fruitful artistic trajectory. He has produced original and pioneering contemporary art works since 1950, playing a leading and influential role in the art world.
His artistic contributions have delighted, confounded and illuminated the contemporary world, bringing a fresh store of creative energy, surprise and wonder. His artwork reflects a persistent imaginative exuberance preserving the inner integrity of order by a constant destruction of external schemes and circumstances.
In hope of establishing mutual understanding through art, he initiated the worldwide exhibit entitled ROCI (Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Interchange) in 1984. ROCI was born of a humanism rooted in the concept of reciprocal cognizance through art, uniting all humanity and transcending nationality and race. It shows the artist’s deeply held convictions and messages concerning peace, communication and contemporary art.
Mr. Rauschenberg was born in Porth Arthur, Texas, USA, in 1925, studied at Kansas City Art Institute and Mountain College, North Carolina, 1948-49, and at the Art Student’s League, New York, 1949-52. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Swedish Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Officier, and the Ordre des Arts et Lettres, France.
Rauschenberg’s paintings and pieces of graphic art are exhibited in many prominent galleries and museums all over the world.
During his productive career that includes more than 300 paintings, he has received different awards and honours among them The Logan Award, William A. Clarke gold medal, Grammy Award, and the Andres Bello Medal.
