RAMM:ELL:ZEE

TIME:LINE

Artist, theorist, sculptor, performer, and Master of Ceremonies, RAMMELLZEE was one of the most influential and elusive figures to emerge from New York’s cultural landscape of the 1980s. Refusing fixed categories, he developed a practice that fused graffiti, language theory, performance, music, science fiction, and sculpture into a singular artistic universe. At the center of his thinking were the theories of “Gothic Futurism” and “Iconoclastic Panzerism”, through which he imagined language as a battleground and letters as living forms capable of resisting systems of control.

A distinctive focus of the Museion chapter is the artist’s relationship with Italy. Through rarely seen archival materials, key works, and historical connections, the exhibition explores a lesser-known dimension of his biography and artistic development, from his collaborations and performances in Italy during the 1980s to his engagement with Italian visual traditions. Special loans from the Abbey of Novacella and works by Fortunato Depero create unexpected dialogues that reveal affinities between illuminated manuscripts, Futurist experimentation, and RAMMELLZEE’s radical reinvention of the alphabet.
At the heart of the exhibition stands Gasholear, the monumental wearable exoskeleton that RAMMELLZEE developed between 1987 and 1998 and considered one of his most ambitious creations. Surrounding it are seminal groups of works including the Letter Racers, Garbage Gods, and Monster Models, as well as archival materials, never-before-exhibited objects, photographs, films, and documents that illuminate the breadth of his vision.

Bringing together works by artists who shaped and shared his cultural milieu, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Futura 2000, Phase 2, Dondi White, Lady Pink, Lee Quiñones, Martin Wong, David Hammons, Gordon Matta-Clark, and Arthur Jafa, TIME:LINE situates RAMMELLZEE within a wider constellation of artistic and social networks. Photographs and films by figures such as Henry Chalfant, Maripol, Gianni Pettena, Charlie Ahearn, and Jim Jarmusch further evoke the vibrant world in which his practice evolved.