Kate Raudenbush, Future’s Past, 2010. Photo by Jeff Song.
On View from March 30, 2018 to November 30, 2018
Kate Raudenbush is a self-taught, Burning Man–bred sculptor, known for her large-scale, geometric works. Her immersive, experiential environments are spaces for exploration, human connection, and intellectual curiosity. Informed by a range of cultures, symbols, and myths, these otherworldly—even sacred–works serve as allegories for social and environmental concerns.
Visitors to Raudenbush's Future's Past encounter a temple to technology, abandoned and consumed by nature. Referencing both the roots of trees and computer circuitry, this modern ruin is a meditation on technology and the environment’s vital role in our survival. The black pyramid evokes a Mayan temple, an homage to a collapsed culture and a reminder of the frailty of our own, while the tree alludes to the vegetation around Angkor temples and the sacred Bodhi, the fig tree under which Buddha found enlightenment. An hourglass inside the altar signals the urgency of our current technological evolution.
No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man brings the large-scale, participatory work from this desert gathering to the nation’s capital for the first time. The exhibition takes over the entire Renwick Gallery building and surrounding Golden Triangle neighborhood, bringing alive the maker culture and creative spirit of this cultural movement.