The Art Newspaper

Man Ray trust criticised for travelling show

From issue 192, June 2008
Published online 1 Jun 08 (News)

PARIS. An exhibition of works by Man Ray, on loan from the Man Ray Trust in New York, at the Pinacothèque de Paris (until 1 June and then at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, 13 June-18 August), has been heavily criticised by specialists who say that it is amateurish, reveals the incompetence of the trust and will damage the reputation of the artist. The show, “L’Atelier Man Ray: Unconcerned but not Indifferent”, consists of small-scale prints of works, late prints with unspecified dates or posthumously created, and lithographs from the 1970s. A total of 350 objects are on show, many for the first time. “It’s a disgrace to the memory of Man Ray to make an exhibition with secondary works and copies of copies,” said Paris dealer Marcel Fleiss. Fellow dealer Alain Paviot added that “this exhibition reminds me of a stock clearance by a second-rate art dealer”. But the show’s co-curator John Jacob defended the show, saying that Man Ray made replicas himself, while Stéphanie Browner, financial administrator of the trust reacted angrily: “It’s false and calumnious to attack the fund’s integrity,” she said. R.A.

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