Beyond the canvas
Rauschenberg’s work Express conceals a particularly curious detail that goes unnoticed unless you stop and look closely. Instead of confining himself to the traditional space of the canvas, the artist goes one step further and incorporates the frame into the composition.
Another aspect makes this piece even more unusual: in the large black-and-white composition, there is just one splash of colour that extends to part of the frame. This contrast reinforces the play between the artwork and its ‘boundary’. It is as if the artist wanted to remind us that, at times, something apparently secondary, such as the frame, can be just as important as the image itself.
