Man Ray, Self-Portrait, 1930 Gelatin Silver Salt Photographic Paper (postprint). Image courtesy of Man Ray International Association (Paris) MAN RAY TRUST/ADAGP, Paris & SACK, Seoul, 2021
Beijing News (reporter Liu Zhen) On October 1, the American modern art master Man Ray (Emmanuel Rydinsky, 1890-1976) in China's first large-scale art museum exhibition "Man Ray: Day new york, midnight Paris" opened at the Mumu Art Museum in Beijing (Hall 798). The exhibition, which marks the 100th anniversary of the artist's first exhibition in Paris in 1921, will be his largest solo exhibition in Asia to date, presenting more than 240 exhibits, including paintings, sculptures, films, prints, works on paper, documentary materials and poetry, providing an in-depth review and exploration of his diverse artistic practices.
Man Ray, Black and White, 1926 gelatin silver salt photo paper (postprint). Image courtesy of Man Ray International Association (Paris) © MAN RAY TRUST/ADAGP, Paris & SACK, Seoul, 2021
The exhibition is divided into four sections based on the artist's life experience: "New York: 1890-1921", "Paris: 1921-1940", "Hollywood: 1940-1951" and "Return to Paris: 1951-1976", each of which contains a different theme, showing the artist's outstanding contribution to the development of modern art from multiple dimensions. In addition, the exhibition explores how Man Ray extends the medium of photography to the intersection of pure art and documentary in a variety of ways. Man Ray considered him a painter who copied his own work through photography. However, his incorporation of portraiture and "fashion photography" into the practice of his artistic language (which he often did to sustain his artistic creation) changed the way photography is perceived today and influenced the use of photography and images in magazines and advertising.
Man Ray, "Coco Chanel", 1930 gelatin silver salt photo paper (postprint). Image courtesy of Man Ray International Association (Paris) © MAN RAY TRUST/ADAGP, Paris & SACK, Seoul, 2021
It is worth mentioning that the exhibition will open a special exhibition hall to show Man Ray's close connection with the fashion industry. Portraits of Coco Chanel, works by important artists such as Mela Oppenheim of the period, jewellery designed by Elsa Triole, perfume bottles by renowned fashion designer Elsa Schippelly will be juxtaposed in this exhibition hall.
Spanning the period before and after the two world wars, the exhibition explores historical events, personal relationships and how the artist's long-term reflections on the nature of art intertwine and ultimately present in his work. It is reported that after the exhibition at the Mumu Art Museum in Beijing, the exhibition will be toured to TAG · Saikai Art Museum.
Beijing News reporter Liu Zhen
Edited by Huang Jialing Proofreader Chen Diyan