This spring the Tate Modern presents a big Dada show that includes over 400 works, among them Duchamp�s Nude Descending a Staircase (No21) , Fountain 1917, L.H.O.O.Q , Man Ray�s rayographs, and Picabia�s paintings. The Times gives the show four out of five stars. “As far as art history is concerned, it was like mixing ammonia, nitrate and a match. When Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and Man Ray all met, swilled into each other’s circles by the international art scene and wartime migrations, they formed an explosive cocktail of talents. Together, most famously, they were responsible for launching Dada on New York….Duchamp’s sense of humour is an acid test. It is this restlessly teasing, relentlessly testing, provocatively playful imagination that, made all the clearer in the context of intimate friendships, lends life to this show. The trouble is, Duchamp was only in his mid-thirties when he abandoned art, hardly ever to return. And with his withdrawal the impetus of this show peters out. ” Read more.
“Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia,” Tate Modern, London. Through May 26.
