About Rachel
Rachel Rotenberg creates an aesthetic world of wood sculpture populated by sensually curving surfaces, intriguingly formed negative spaces, and forceful volumes. The artist begins her process by drawing in a sketchbook. Using sticks of cedar lumber she builds her sculptures. Evocative stains and colors are applied to the finished pieces.
Rachel Rotenberg was born in Toronto, Canada. She attended University in Toronto and New York City receiving her BFA from York University in 1981.… more
Rachel Rotenberg was born in Toronto, Canada. She attended University in Toronto and New York City receiving her BFA from York University in 1981.… more
Jump to a project:
2018
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WanderingCedar, Cement, Oil Paint 33" 26" x 7" 2018
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IntertwinedCedar, Wire, Oil Paint 33" x 41" x 12" 2018
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FriendshipCedar, Oil Paint 50" x 65" x 57" 2018
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Infinite LadderCedar, Oil Paint 70" x 24" x 13" 2018
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Time lapse creating sculpture FriendshipTime lapse video. Freestanding sculpture
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GraceCedar, Cement, Oil Paint 28"x 42" x 7" 2018
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Time lapse video creating "Grace"Time lapse video creating "Grace"
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Untitled 192Cedar, Cement, Oil Paint 21" x 18" x 10" 2018
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Well of BeingCedar Wood, Oil Paint 79” x 22” x 19” 2018
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Drawing for outdoor sculpture, bronze and glass
2017
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Veer Leftwood and cement 17" x 31" x 5"
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Winwardwood, cement, oil paint 50" x 49" x 9"
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Sarrowood, oil paint 54" x 48" x 11"
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Afterwordswood, oil paint 46" x 26" x 10"
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Nestedwood, cement 46" x 17" x 10"
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Untitled 184wood, cement 48" x 24" x 5"
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Untitled 183wood, oil paint 28" x 29" x 6"
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Listening- time lapse video
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ListeningCedar Wood, Cement, Oil Paint 50" x 37" x 11"
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Untitled 183 - time lapse video
2016
Elements of cement are becoming part of my sculpture this year. I form the cement pieces inside a variety of plastic and rubber forms. Mixing in pigments when I cast the cement allows for a myriad of associations. I intend to continue to explore this relationship between wood and cement and the contrast between how each is formed.
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1723.jpgUNTITLED 172 CEDAR, CEMENT, WIRE, OIL PAINT 39 ''X 29 ''X 8 ''
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170.jpgCASCADING CEDAR, OIL PAINT 70 ''X 20 ''X 7 '' 2016
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1704.jpgdetail
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1733.jpgUNTITLED 173 CEDAR, CEMENT, OIL PAINT 20 ''X 25 ''X 7 '' 2016
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Untitled 171UNTITLED 171 CEDAR, CEMENT, WIRE, OIL PAINT 19 ''X 37 ''X 8 '' 2016
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1693.jpgUNTITLED 169 CEDAR, OIL PAINT 47 ''X 30 ''X 10 '' 2016
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LiltCedar Wood, Oil Paint 40" x 68" x 6"
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SecretsCedar Wood, Oil Paint 51" x 64" x 7"
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drawing
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drawings
2015
I have been working in solitude for the last six months, exploring intimate places and spaces after a year of personal and medical issues that brought out a myriad of feelings.
Everything in my life is material which I forage for sculptural ideas.
I express myself most clearly and in fact find myself in the forms I create. I learn so much as I drop into the sculptural process. While the work speaks to me it also speaks powerfully to others as well.
Everything in my life is material which I forage for sculptural ideas.
I express myself most clearly and in fact find myself in the forms I create. I learn so much as I drop into the sculptural process. While the work speaks to me it also speaks powerfully to others as well.
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Untitled 165Cedar, Oil Paint 47 x 46" x 5" 2015
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UNTITLED 162CEDAR, OIL PAINT 42 ''X 54 ''X 9 '' 2015
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UNTITLED 158CEDAR, OIL PAINT 41 ''X 37 ''X 12 '' 2015
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UNTITLED 161CEDAR, OIL PAINT 23 ''X 45 ''X 9 '' 2015
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UNTITLED 160CEDAR, OIL PAINT 32 ''X 45 ''X 9 '' 2015
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drawing
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Untitled 164Cedar, Oil Paint 50" x 35" x 8" 2015
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Drawing for SeasonsI draw to find to define the form of the next sculpture, I return to my drawing book to work out problems that I encounter during construction of my sculptures.
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Untitled 159Cedar, Wood, Oil Paint 28 ''X 20 ''X 10 '' 2015-repainted 2018
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drawingDrawing for outdoor sculpture using white oak root balls
Parts and Wholes
2014 has been a year of transition and person challenge. Out of those experiences have come these two large freestanding sculptures.
Each of my sculptures follows and builds on the previous sculpture. I continue to learn about my forms and materials, what they can do for me, how I can express myself. After finishing a sculpture I find that there is something I discovered that needs further exploration and that pushes me towards the next piece of art making.
While making “Rayne” I programmed my camera to take an image every 60 seconds. With those images I created a video that describes my construction process.
Each of my sculptures follows and builds on the previous sculpture. I continue to learn about my forms and materials, what they can do for me, how I can express myself. After finishing a sculpture I find that there is something I discovered that needs further exploration and that pushes me towards the next piece of art making.
While making “Rayne” I programmed my camera to take an image every 60 seconds. With those images I created a video that describes my construction process.
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Rachel Rotenberg working on "Rayne"
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RayneCedar, Oil Paint, Nuts and Bolts 2014
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RayneCedar, Oil Paint, Nuts and Bolts 2014
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RayneCedar, Oil Paint, Nuts and Bolts 2014
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RayneCedar, Oil Paint, Nuts and Bolts 2014
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Time LineCedar, Oil Paint 96''X 39''X 39'' 2014
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Time LineCedar, Oil Paint 96''X 39''X 39'' 2014
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Time LineCedar, Oil Paint 96''X 39''X 39'' 2014
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Time LineCedar, Oil Paint 96''X 39''X 39'' 2014
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Time LineCedar, Oil Paint 96''X 39''X 39'' 2014
McLean Exhibit
When I place my sculpture in a solo exhibit I continue my creative process, all the sculpture together is an installation, there is a conversation between the pieces, and I engage and invite the public into that dialogue.
My sculptures emerge from relationships, relationships with myself, with other people and the world around me. When I begin a new project I take pencil, eraser and drawing book in hand. Through drawings I transform my experiences into forms. I find myself returning again and again to images that refer to how I am being in my life, it is a place where I discover myself. I express myself through basic forms that are evocative, universal and deeply human. Elements of the sculptures tend to come together and pull apart, support and hold, touch and press on another. In this way they speak to me of living a human life engaged in the world. Although I have a personal story that will accompany any particular sculpture, what is important is that the sculpture I create are built on references that are available to speak to others. I am a sculptor not a writer, I strive to create work that will connect and stimulate a response from the audience without their needing to read up about it, the response is visceral.
My sculptures emerge from relationships, relationships with myself, with other people and the world around me. When I begin a new project I take pencil, eraser and drawing book in hand. Through drawings I transform my experiences into forms. I find myself returning again and again to images that refer to how I am being in my life, it is a place where I discover myself. I express myself through basic forms that are evocative, universal and deeply human. Elements of the sculptures tend to come together and pull apart, support and hold, touch and press on another. In this way they speak to me of living a human life engaged in the world. Although I have a personal story that will accompany any particular sculpture, what is important is that the sculpture I create are built on references that are available to speak to others. I am a sculptor not a writer, I strive to create work that will connect and stimulate a response from the audience without their needing to read up about it, the response is visceral.
Before Midnight
The audience response to my exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2011 was amazing. I felt encouraged. When I begin a new project, I trust my intuition and I choose a stretch, a leap into the unknown. That is where I grow. I draw, I establish the emotion of the sculpture, and begin to build. I also understand that there are elements of the sculpture which will be discovered as I build. I invite those moments I feel that I am in a conversation with the sculpture as it emerges. This is especially true for large freestanding sculptures. I was preparing for an exhibit in Washington. I set a challenge for myself in form and scale.
I decided to photograph the sculpture during construction to help describe my process.
I spent several months finding my way through this sculpture. “Before Midnight” draws the viewer into its inner space, one end is a container bound tightly with vines that wrap and hold it together, the other end is an expansive and open. It is big enough to crawl inside and seems to invite the viewer into its cavity.
I decided to photograph the sculpture during construction to help describe my process.
I spent several months finding my way through this sculpture. “Before Midnight” draws the viewer into its inner space, one end is a container bound tightly with vines that wrap and hold it together, the other end is an expansive and open. It is big enough to crawl inside and seems to invite the viewer into its cavity.
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine, Oil Paint 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine, Oil Paint 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine, Oil Paint 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine, Oil Paint 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine, Oil Paint 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
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Before MidnightCedar, Vine, Oil Paint 86" x 78" x 46" 2011
After Vermont
During the winter of 2013 I participated in an artist residency at the Vermont Studio Center. The experience of working along side other artists of varied disciplines was energizing. I made several smaller sculptures and experimented with my materials. Most notably, I laminated thin strips of wood together creating my own plywood, long curved strips of wood, which I incorporated into sculptures. Looking back on the sculptures that followed that residency I see that although I have not repeated the plywood construction process, I have used ribbons of curved wood repeatedly.
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BreatheCedar, Oil Paint 45" x 31" x 9" 2013
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BreatheCedar, Oil Paint 45" x 31" x 9" 2013
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BreatheCedar, Oil Paint 32" x 27" x 36" 2013
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BreatheCedar, Oil Paint 32" x 27" x 36" 2013
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UntitledCedar, Oil Paint 32" x 27" x 36" 2013
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BreatheCedar, Oil Paint 32" x 27" x 36" 2013
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GamesCedar, Oil Paint 48" x 79" x 50" 2013
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GamesCedar, Oil Paint 48" x 79" x 50" 2013
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GamesCedar, Oil Paint 48" x 79" x 50" 2013
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GamesCedar, Oil Paint 48" x 79" x 50" 2013
Baltimore Museum of Art
In 2011 I exhibited my sculpture in the large vaulted gallery at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The size of the room and the ceiling height allowed me to be creative in the way I arranged the sculptures. I was inspired by the space and built the sculpture “Dream” specifically for the exhibit.
In my studio I work on one sculpture at a time. While a sculpture is emerging it monopolizes my attention, I am wrapped up in my relationship with it and what I want to express as well as what the sculpture demands from me. When the sculpture is complete I move it out of my studio to make room for another relationship. It is distracting for me to have sculptures in the studio when I am pursuing a new idea. Designing an exhibit is another layer of creative opportunity for me. I see the sculptures whole and fresh in a new environment, I see how they interact with one another and finally I see how they speak to the public. I find myself connected to a larger world.
In my studio I work on one sculpture at a time. While a sculpture is emerging it monopolizes my attention, I am wrapped up in my relationship with it and what I want to express as well as what the sculpture demands from me. When the sculpture is complete I move it out of my studio to make room for another relationship. It is distracting for me to have sculptures in the studio when I am pursuing a new idea. Designing an exhibit is another layer of creative opportunity for me. I see the sculptures whole and fresh in a new environment, I see how they interact with one another and finally I see how they speak to the public. I find myself connected to a larger world.