Given: Marcel Duchamp by Art Gallery of NSW published on 2019-05-14T02:11:07Z The artist, his work and his legacy Matthew Affron will tell the story of the life and art of Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968): his beginnings as an artist and his engagement with cubism; his decision, at age twenty-five, to abandon painting, and its momentous consequences; the launching of new projects in the 1920s and 1930s using the name of Rrose Sélavy, a female alter ego; and finally, Duchamp’s paradoxical celebrity after the Second World War. The lecture will conclude with reflections on Duchamp’s legacy for art in the West. About the speaker: Matthew Affron is the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Since joining the museum in 2013, he has organized 'The essential Duchamp' (2018-19) and co-organized 'Paint the revolution: Mexican modernism', 1910-1950 (with the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 2016-2017). An upcoming exhibition project will focus on Henri Matisse in the 1930s. Previously, Dr. Affron served as a faculty member at the University of Virginia and also had an appointment at the university’s museum, where his exhibitions included Joseph Cornell and surrealism (with the Musée de Beaux-Arts, Lyon, 2013). He has published and lectured widely on topics in modern art. He holds MA and PhD degrees in art history from Yale University. Image: Matthew Affron
