PESSOA on stage and paper, and "The Days Before"

This June, the Théâtre de la Ville will present a revival of PESSOA—Since I’ve Been Me on the Sarah Bernhardt stage, from 6/13–21.

To mark the occasion, Nosbaum Reding Gallery will present a special exhibition of iconic drawings created by Robert Wilson during the rehearsals of PESSOA. Conveniently located within the theatre, the exhibition will be open on performance days from three hours before each show until 30 minutes after its conclusion, offering audiences a unique glimpse into Wilson’s creative process.

“I think by drawing, so I’ll draw or diagram everything from a piece of furniture to a stage gesture. I understand things best when they’re in graphics, not words.”
— Robert Wilson

On June 12, the eve of the opening performance of PESSOA, Ketabi Bourdet Gallery in Paris will inaugurate its second exhibition dedicated to Robert Wilson’s work. The exhibition brings into dialogue two lacquered-wood versions of the Father’s Chair, originally designed for the set of The Days Before: Death, Destruction & Detroit III, with a series of 25 charcoal drawings depicting the same iconic object.

First conceived in natural oak in 1999, the Father’s Chair was reinterpreted by Robert Wilson in 2022 in editions of black, white, and red lacquered wood. Together, the sculptures and drawings highlight the enduring significance of this emblematic form within Wilson’s artistic universe.

"Robert Wilson On Screen" - a New York Retrospective, May 29 – June 5

Following the Moby Dick run at BAM earlier this month, and April’s “Moving Image” tribute to Robert Wilson at the BAM Rose Cinemas, New York audiences will soon have another opportunity to explore Wilson’s cinematic world: from May 29 through June 5, Anthology Film Archives and the Segal Center Film Festival on Theater and Performance will present an extensive film series celebrating his work and legacy.

The retrospective will feature several original screen works by Wilson (listed in our calendar), alongside a wide-ranging selection of documentaries about his life and artistic practice. Highlights include Mark Obenhaus’s definitive chronicle of Einstein on the Beach and Howard Brookner’s revealing portrait film Robert Wilson and the CIVIL warS.

Click here for more information and tickets.

Upcoming Screenings

  • Mark Obenhaus, EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH: THE CHANGING IMAGE OF OPERA

    May 29 at 6:45 PM & June 4 at 9:00 PM

  • Overture for KA MOUNTAIN AND GUARDenia TERRACE: A STORY ABOUT A FAMILY AND SOME PEOPLE CHANGING

    May 29 at 8:45 PM & June 5 at 6:45 PM

  • ROBERT WILSON: VIDEO 50 + DEAFMAN GLANCE

    May 30 at 6:15 PM & June 4 at 6:45 PM

  • Howard Brookner, ROBERT WILSON AND THE CIVIL warS

    May 30 at 8:30 PM & June 5 at 8:45 PM

  • ROBERT WILSON: STATIONS / LA FEMME À LA CAFETIÈRE / LA MORT DE MOLIÈRE

    May 31 at 5:30 PM & June 2 at 6:30 PM

  • Theo Janssen & Ralph Quinke, THE BLACK RIDER

    May 31 at 8:00 PM

  • Robert Wilson, HAMLET: A MONOLOGUE

    June 1 at 6:30 PM

  • Marion Kessel, THE MAKING OF A MONOLOGUE: ROBERT WILSON’S HAMLET

    June 1 at 8:45 PM

  • Giada Colagrande, BOB WILSON’S LIFE & DEATH OF MARINA ABRAMOVIC

    June 2 at 8:45 PM

  • Pauline de Grunne, ROBERT WILSON IN SITU

    June 3 at 7:00 PM

  • ROBERT WILSON: WATERMILL CENTER [Films by Stefan Kurt and Tomasz Jeziorski]

    June 3 at 8:45 PM

The Space Behind The Face: Life Stories by Robert Wilson with Keith McDermott

Over the past few years, Bob worked with his friend, author Keith McDermott, to write his memoir. While the manuscript was completed before his passing, the book was not published during his lifetime.

This November, The Space Behind The Face will be released posthumously. It will be available on November 3, 2026.

You can discover and pre-order the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804124/the-space-behind-the-face-by-robert-wilson-with-keith-mcdermott

“We’re thrilled to announce the long-awaited memoir from one of the most influential artists of our time, Robert Wilson. From Einstein on the Beach to collaborations with Philip Glass, Lou Reed, and Lady Gaga, Wilson’s work expanded the possibilities of theater and visual art. In The Space Behind the Face, he tells his story through a series of striking, intimate vignettes – tracing his journey from Texas to New York’s downtown scene and onto the world stage.

Part memoir, part cultural history, this is a powerful portrait of an artist who changed how we see.”
— Penguin Press announcement

MESSIAH and PESSOA - Robert Wilson's drawings on view in Houston/Texas and Paris/France

Ahead of the upcoming run of Robert Wilson’s The Messiah at Houston Grand Opera, the Josh Pazda Hiram Butler Gallery presents a compelling exhibition of Wilson’s drawings created in dialogue with the production. These striking charcoal works, marked by a quiet existential intensity, are set in contrast with a Paris pop-up showcasing Wilson’s more whimsical Pessoa drawings. There, Nosbaum Reding Gallery will be exhibiting at the Drawing Now Paris Fair and is pleased to assist with ticket inquiries (sales@nosbaumreding.com).

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MOTHER goes to MAXXI

Robert Wilson’s final completed work, MOTHER, is a durational piece created around Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini, housed at the Spanish Hospital of Milan’s Castello Sforzesco, and with music by Arvo Pärt (Stabat Mater). Around its première in April of 2025, Wilson remarked in an interview that “there are very few places where you have time to think. Theater and installations can create these spaces for us—mental spaces for thinking and dreaming.”

The work proved this to be true: audiences at the always sold-out sessions in the Sforzesco were deeply moved by the 25-minute installation—one that tells a story but has no narrative; is filled with movement despite centering on a marble sculpture; and draws viewers in a profound state of immersion.

MOTHER will be on view at the MAXXI Museum in Rome from December 12 through January 18, with seven performances daily (five on 12/24 and 12/31). In addition, three special evening presentations on Dec. 12, 13, and 14 will feature live music performed by the Vox Clamantis ensemble from Tallinn.

The sculpture in this edition will be the Gariboldi Cast (1953) of the Pietà Rondanini, and the space a faithful reconstruction of the Spanish Hospital room in Milan.

Photograph © Lucie Jansch

In memoriam Robert M. Wilson (1941—2025)

Robert Wilson (Oct. 4, 1941 — July 31, 2025)

We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Robert M. Wilson, artist, theater and opera director, architect, set and lighting designer, visual artist, and founder of The Watermill Center.

Robert Wilson died peacefully today in Water Mill, New York, at the age of 83, after a brief but acute illness.

While facing his diagnosis with clear eyes and determination, he still felt compelled to keep working and creating right up until the very end. His works for the stage, on paper, sculptures and video portraits, as well as The Watermill Center, will endure as Robert Wilson’s artistic legacy.

There will be memorials for Robert Wilson held in the near future in locations that were especially meaningful to him. We will announce those in time.