Documenting Duchamp: A Commemoration of Landmark Duchamp Exhibitions

Few would disagree that no one anticipated and influenced 20th century art in all its aspects than did Marcel Duchamp. He, more than any artist, brought the making of art out of the studio into the realism of language, intellect, and conception. By so doing, he unquestionably can be called the father of Dada and Conceptual Art and all the manifestations that came out of these movements.
 
Even though Duchamp was not a prolific maker of works in traditional forms, he often expressed himself in the more graphic arts forms of prints and posters, as well as in the design of books and catalogues for his exhibitions. In the exhibition Documenting Duchamp, which has as its theme the rich and engaging history of exhibitions of Duchamp’s works, every original poster by Duchamp, and several by other artists and designers made for Duchamp exhibitions, will be on view along with nearly three dozen books and catalogues for which Duchamp designed either the covers of the entire work; rare photographs of Duchamp by Man Ray; and other Duchamp multiples.
 
Among the more than sixty-five works in the exhibition are the rarely seen 1925 Duchamp poster for the French championship chess tournament in Nice, his playful arresting typographic poster for the 1953 Dada exhibition at the Sidney Janis Gallery, La Bôite en Valise, and the notorious foam-rubber breast catalogue cover for the Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme that took place in Paris in 1947.
 
A limited-edition poster for this exhibition designed by Nancy Skolos and Tomas Wedell is available.