Described as the first major U.S. retrospective dedicated to Marcel Duchamp in more than 50 years, the exhibition will explore the range and arc of the artist’s career. Titled ‘Marcel Duchamp,’ it will feature a chronological display of more than 300 works spanning painting, sculpture, film, photography, printed matter, exhibition design and the unclassifiable works known as readymades.
The exhibition is scheduled for the Main Building’s Dorrance Galleries and Galleries 281–283. Among the works presented will be ‘Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)’ (1912), ‘The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even’ (1915–23), ‘Fountain’ (1917) and ‘L.H.O.O.Q.’ (1919). The selection will also include ‘Box in a Valise’ (1935–41), described as the artist’s portable museum of his own creations in miniature, and ‘Étant donnés’ (1946–66), Duchamp’s final major work, in which he reflected upon his lifelong artistic obsessions.
In 1912, Duchamp began to question his occupation and, at the age of 25, decided to abandon the craft of oil painting. He also sought to remain aloof from the art world in order to work as he pleased, becoming one of the most innovative and original figures in modern art. Across six decades, he was associated with Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, while his practice continuously reinvented itself and resisted categorization under any label.
It also features a deeply researched chronology interwoven with archival and documentary material.
An expansive introduction by curators Ann Temkin, Michelle Kuo and Matthew Affron addresses Duchamp’s radical rethinking of art and the museum, his transformation of authorship, his innovations in exhibition and installation display, and his lifelong dedication to changing the relationship between art and life.
