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19/3/2002

Marcel Duchamp

Tinguely Museum, Basel

This exhibition planned by Harald Szeemann features significant works on loan and is the first representative presentation of work by Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) in Switzerland since 1960. Duchamp's oeuvre and his person play a central part in the art history of the 20th century and his influence lasts to the present day. His provocative emphasis on the relationship of art and life - its condition for creation - has altered the perception of works of art and their producers decisively.

The exhibition shows Duchamp's work using selected pieces, concentrating primarily on aspects that had a sustained influence on the work of Jean Tinguely (1925-1991): mechanics, movement, optical elements, play and humour. The Ready-mades, in which he declares an everyday object (a bicycle or a urinal) a work of art, as well as the use of coincidence as an artistic medium in his 3 Stoppages Etalons (1913-14/1964) were to become an important source of inspiration to young Tinguely in the Paris of the early 60s.

Duchamp's optical experiments and inventions, Rotative plaques de verre (1920/1960) and his Rotoreliefs that create optical illusions and virtual volumes with the aid of the machine have a direct relationship with Tinguely's kinetic sculptures.

In the 1912 painting entitled Nu descendant un escalier No. 2, Marcel Duchamp breaks down the movement of a nude into momentary images of abstract surfaces, thus creating a "static image of movement". Another item on show is a signed replica of Duchamp's enigmatic major work entitled La mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, même (also known as the Large Glass), which he created in seclusion from 1915 to 1923 working with a lead wire technique on glass and which remained uncompleted. Drawings and paintings such as Première recherche pour la mariée mise à nu (1912) and La Broyeuse de Chocolat No. 1 of 1913 supplement the presentation of the Large Glass.

The Boîtes en Valise are miniature museum suitcases containing reproductions of his Ready-made works and sculptures with which Duchamp questions the traditional idea of the museum. In 1920 he calls his alter ego Rrose Sélavy to life and declares himself a work of art by having his picture taken as a woman by Man Ray. Another occasion where the artist provocatively plays with ambiguity and irritation of the onlooker is L.H.O.O.Q, a reproduction of da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa with beard and moustache. In addition to Duchamp's erotic objects, the exhibition also includes works around the Etant donnés installation work, which was first shown in the Philadelphia Museum of Art after his death. The exhibition is supplemented by extensive documentation from the renowned Duchamp researcher Jacques Caumont. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Duchamp Estate and with the assistance of Marcel Duchamp's stepchildren Jacqueline, Paul and Peter Matisse.

A catalogue with a wealth of illustrations will be published on the occasion of the exhibition by the Hatje Cantz publishing house in German, English and French. It will include a preface by Harald Szeemann and Guido Magnaguagno, texts by Marcel Duchamp and renowned authors such as Elisabeth Bronfen, Dieter Daniels, Marc Décimo and Herbert Molderings as well as an extensive interview with Jean Tinguely on Marcel Duchamp and his art. The publication also includes an extensive chronology by Jacques Caumont and a "Mirage vers Bâle" supplement.

Image: Marcel Duchamp, Rotoreliefs

Museum Jean Tinguely Basel
Paul Sacher-Anlage 1 P.O. Box 3255 CH-4002 Basel
Wednesday to Sunday 11 > 19 Monday closed

For more press information:
Mr. Dominique Mollet, Press Office Museum Jean Tinguely, c/o Cadeaux Communication

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