Rachel Kneebone at the Brooklyn Museum

Rachel Kneebone’s solo exhibition ‘Regarding Rodin’ opens at the Brooklyn Museum in January. The exhibition will feature eight of the artist’s large-scale porcelain sculptures alongside fifteen works by 19th century sculptor Auguste Rodin, selected by Kneebone from the museum’s collection.

The exhibition, Kneebone’s first major museum presentation, will explore the commonalities and differences between both artists - from their shared interest in the representation of death and ecstasy, to their varying approaches to materials and processes. Kneebone’s work invokes the forms of Michelangelo, Bernini and Louise Bourgeois. Intricate and pristine, fired in a small kiln in the artist’s studio they form a counterpoint to Rodin’s dark pre-cast bronzes. Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ represents a source of inspiration for both artists, inspiring Rodin’s masterpiece ‘The Gates of Hell’ (1880-1917) as well as the centrepiece of this exhibition, Kneebone’s ‘The Descent’ (2008), the artist’s largest work to date.

'Rachel Kneebone: Regarding Rodin' is organized by Catherine Morris, Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum.