Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) was defined by Willem De Kooning as a "one-man-movement, open to everyone".

A legend in his own lifetime, Duchamp revolutionized notions of art and aesthetics with his "art as life" philosophy and his development of the Surrealist symbiosis of word and image.

This is best exemplified by his ready-mades: everyday objects picked randomly and exhibited out of context as art. His influence on the younger generation of American artists including Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage was immeasurable, he is now seen as the precursor of many of the avantgarde movements in the latter part of the 20th century. Gloria Moure describes his multi-faceted work as a whole, presenting it in its diverse but, as she argues, undeniably unified nature.

Illustrated in this volume is a wide spectrum of his work including his early experiments with Fauve and Cubist-inspired painting and his collages, sculptures and sketches.

The author curated major exhibitions on Duchamp at the Miro Foundation, Barcelona and at the Ludwig Museum, Cologne.