Lehmann Maupin presents African Dream Root, Robin Rhode’s sixth solo presentation with the gallery. The exhibition will feature new photographs, sculptures, installations, and wall paintings inspired by the Berlin-based artist’s extensive research into visual and oral traditions of storytelling in Southern Africa. Born and raised in South Africa, Rhode examines the histories and mythologies of the continental subregion in his newest body of work. With African Dream Root, the artist moves to situate his wall-based works within a distinctly Southern African lineage and reconnect his practice to its ancient art historical roots. Locating his work in relation to ancient rock art and spiritual practices, Rhode considers his wall paintings to be visual interventions in their cultural, political, and ecological environments, and he aims to transform both landscapes and communities. Representing a critical development in Rhode's practice, African Dream Root marks the first time the artist will create wall paintings (typically shown through photographs documenting the paintings' production) within a gallery context. As he transposes his wall-based works into the gallery space, Rhode suggests a fluid, mobile mode for representing Southern African diasporic experiences.

Rhode is best known for his multi-panel works that deftly combine photography, performance, wall painting, and drawing. Negotiating the urban landscape, his work often depicts silhouetted figures interacting with carefully crafted, highly geometric wall paintings that the artist paints in public spaces in Johannesburg and Berlin. In contrast to earlier works that were spread across numerous photographs, many of the new photographic works (all shot in Johannesburg) make use of only two or three panels, and Rhode creates intricate compositions rich in symbolism that compress his complex tableaux into just a few frames. In addition to these photographic series, African Dream Root includes new sculptures and wall paintings. Here, the artist boldly merges street and gallery—bringing his dynamic scenes to life in the gallery space.