Already one of the most engaging and interesting museums that any art-lovers who book a vacation rental in Venice or a holiday rental in Veneto should make a point to visit, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is currently hosting one of the most exciting exhibitions of 2023 at the moment! Opened on the 14th of October 2023 and remaining open right through to March 25th in 2024, the exhibition, “Marcel Duchamp and the Lure of the Copy,” is a thought-provoking examination of the copy in art.
Duchamp, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and an eclectic maker and thinker, was someone who liked to question many of the long-established and firmly entrenched ideologies and hierarchies in art. In particular, he was a major disruptor when it came to the idea of originals and copies in art.
Guggenheim, who established the museum, was a long-time fan and buyer of Duchamp’s work as well as his student when it came to modern art. It seems especially fitting, therefore, that 100 years after their meeting, her institution would house such a retrospective of Duchamp’s work and a dialogue about copies that continues to be relevant and thought-provoking.
At the centre of the exhibition is the “Box in a Suitcase (1935-41)”, a permanent part of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which is a portable museum that holds 69 miniature replicas and reproductions of Duchamp’s works, and was purchased from the artist by his patron-student in 1941. With 60 major works from Italian and American museums as well as private collections, this exhibition is the first in the museum dedicated exclusively to Duchamp and was curated by a Paul B. Franklin, a Paris-based art historian who is an expert on the life and work of the artist.
Plan a perfect getaway in Venice over the next few months an add a visit to this remarkable exhibition to round out your itinerary of this incredible art city in Italy.
