Raquel Rabinovich facts for kids
Raquel Rabinovich (born March 30, 1929 – died January 5, 2025) was an artist from Argentina and the United States. She was famous for her paintings and drawings that used mostly one color. She also created large glass sculptures and art pieces placed in specific locations, especially along the Hudson River.
Her work is part of the Oral History Program at the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art. Many important museums, like the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, have her art in their collections.
Life and Art
Raquel Rabinovich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 30, 1929. Her parents were Jewish and came from Russia and Romania. She grew up in Córdoba. From 1950 to 1952, she studied at the University of Córdoba.
Early in her career, she was inspired by Argentine artists like Héctor Basaldúa, Vicente Forte, and Ernesto Farina. She even visited their art studios. Later, she studied art with Ernesto Farina in Cordoba. In the late 1950s, she spent six years in Europe. There, she studied art history at the Sorbonne and studio art with Andre Lhote.
In 1956, Rabinovich married Jose Luis Reissig, who was also from Argentina. They had three children together. They divorced in 1980 but became partners again in 1987.
She returned to Argentina in the early 1960s. During this time, she thought deeply about life and art. This led to a series of paintings called The Dark is Light Enough. These works were shown in Buenos Aires in 1963. This series started her lifelong study of what she called the "dark source." For Rabinovich, the dark source means the hidden parts of life that seem invisible. These are the things behind how objects, thoughts, language, and the world appear.
Because of a military takeover in Argentina in 1966, she moved to the United States in 1967 with her family. She became an American citizen in 1973.
In the early 1970s, Rabinovich had a dream. In her dream, her paintings became clear and stood on their own. This inspired her to start making sculptures using glass. Her first glass sculptures were shown in 1973.
In 1979, she visited Machu Picchu in Peru. She stayed overnight in the ancient ruins. Before sunrise, Machu Picchu disappeared from view. Then, very slowly, it appeared again as the morning clouds lifted. Many years later, this experience inspired her to create stone sculptures called Emergences. These were placed along the shores of the Hudson River. Like Machu Picchu, these stone sculptures also disappear from view. They slowly emerge again, but this time, the ocean tides hide and reveal them.
In 1987, she traveled to Egypt, India, Nepal, Indonesia, and Thailand. She was very interested in ancient cultures. These trips had a big effect on her artwork.
Raquel Rabinovich passed away at her home in Rhinebeck, New York, on January 5, 2025. She was 95 years old and had recently been diagnosed with cancer.
Selected Exhibitions
Raquel Rabinovich's art has been shown in many exhibitions, including:
- Raquel Rabinovich: The Reading Room (Thompson Memorial Library, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 2018).
- Thresholds (Y Gallery, New York City, 2017).
- River Library (Fundacion Alon, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2008).
- River Library ("Imaging the River", Group exhibition, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY 2003–04).
- Raquel Rabinovich (Galeria Jaime Conci, Cordoba, Argentina, 1990).
- Beyond the Surface: Raquel Rabinovich, Recent Work (American Society, New York, curated by Fatima Bercht).
- Cloister, Crossing, Passageway, 1.32 (CUNY Graduate Center Mall, NYC 1978 and The Jewish Museum Sculpture Court, NYC, 1979).
Awards
Raquel Rabinovich received several awards for her art:
- 2011–12: Lee Krasner Award for Lifetime Achievement, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, NY
- 1995: New York State Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant for Works on Paper, New York, NY
- 1992: National Endowment for the Arts U.S./France Fellowship, Washington, D.C.
- 1991: National Endowment for the Arts Visual Arts Fellowship, Washington, D.C.
- 1980–86: Artists Space Grant, New York, NY
- 1978: CAPS Fellowship Grant, Creative Artists Public Service Program, New York, NY
- 1964: Beca del Fondo Nacional de Las Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Collections
Raquel Rabinovich's work is part of the Oral History Program at the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art. Her art is also in the collections of:
- The Whitney Museum of American Art
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Museo Genaro Perez, Cordoba, Argentina
- The Smithsonian American Art Museum
In South America, her art is found in:
- The Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- The Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogota, Colombia
- The Museo de Arte Moderno, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- The Museo Emilio Caraffa, Cordoba, Argentina
In Europe, her work is in the collection of the Amateras Art Foundation, National Gallery of Art, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Images for kids
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Raquel Rabinovich, "Untitled Relief into Handmade Paper 13," 1988.
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Raquel Rabinovich, "River Library 395 with Footnotes," 2012-14.
See also
In Spanish: Raquel Rabinovich para niños
