Marcel Duchamp and the Seduction of the Copy at Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice presents 'Marcel Duchamp and the Seduction of the Copy', the first museum exhibition focused on Duchamp's obsession with replicating and reproducing his own work. Curated by Paul B. Franklin, the show explores the dialectic between original and copy through over 200 works, including loans from Italian and international museums and a significant selection from the Attilio Codognato collection, much of which is publicly exhibited together for the first time. The centerpiece is Duchamp's 'Boîte-en-valise' (Box in a Valise), a leather suitcase containing miniature reproductions of his masterpieces, originally made for Peggy Guggenheim. The exhibition highlights Duchamp's view of copying as a creative act, challenging Platonic aesthetics and Walter Benjamin's concept of aura. It also presents rare biographical documents and interviews, revealing Duchamp as an innovative artisan rather than purely conceptual. The show runs through March 2024.