Man Ray: Shapes of Light

A visionary and multifaceted artist, Man Ray is a leading figure in 20th-century art history. Photographer, painter, draftsman, filmmaker, and object-maker defined by rare creative freedom, he turned every medium into a field of experimentation.

Born Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia in 1890, he soon immersed himself in New York’s avant-garde scene, where he met and formed a close bond with Marcel Duchamp, eventually joining him in Paris in 1921. There, he became a key player in the Dada, then Surrealist movements. He revolutionised photography, elevating it to a full-fledged art form, with iconic works like Le Violon d’Ingres and Noire et blanche. The formal audacity and poetic visual language he brought to fashion photography continue to inspire creatives to this day. A tireless experimenter, he invented “rayographs”, rediscovered solarisation and as an avant-garde filmmaker he transformed the image into pure sensation.

Man Ray embodies the free, transgressive, and elusive artist. His body of work, imbued with humour, strangeness, and eroticism, defies categorisation and celebrates the power of imagination.

Includes texts by: Robert Rocca, Pierre-Yves Butzbach, Raffaella Perna.

Text in English and Italian.