Man Ray Retrospective at Palazzo Reale in Milan

Palazzo Reale in Milan hosts 'Man Ray. Forme di luce', a major retrospective curated by Pierre-Yves Butzbach and Robert Rocca, running until January 11, 2026. The exhibition presents around 300 works including photographs, drawings, objects, films, and documents from public and private collections. It covers Man Ray's entire career: from self-portraits and portraits of friends (poets and writers) to iconic photographs like nudes as abstract forms, rayograms, and solarizations created with Lee Miller. Fashion photography, experimental films such as 'Le Retour à la raison' (1923) and 'L'Étoile de mer' (1928), and his multidisciplinary practice are highlighted. The exhibition design is by Studio ZDA – Zanetti Design Architettura. A catalog edited by Silvana Editoriale accompanies the show, with texts by the curators and Raffaella Perna. The retrospective is promoted by the Municipality of Milan – Culture and produced by Palazzo Reale and Silvana Editoriale. Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitsky in Philadelphia, 1890) moved to Paris in 1921, befriended Marcel Duchamp and André Breton's surrealists, and worked with Kiki de Montparnasse, Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel, and Meret Oppenheim. After WWII exile in the US and marriage to Juliet Browner, he returned to Paris in 1951 and worked until his death in 1976. The exhibition emphasizes his refusal to distinguish between 'high' and 'low' art, influenced by Alfred Stieglitz at New York's Gallery 291.