Marcel Duchamp‘s Exhibition in Prague

1/4View of the Marcel Duchamp exhibition, Prague, Václav Špála Gallery, 1969. Photo: Jan Ságl, courtesy of the photographer, acquired for VVP AVU Archive.

1/4View of the Marcel Duchamp exhibition, Prague, Václav Špála Gallery, 1969. Photo: Jan Ságl, courtesy of the photographer, acquired for VVP AVU Archive.

1/4View of the Marcel Duchamp exhibition, Prague, Václav Špála Gallery, 1969. Photo: Jan Ságl, courtesy of the photographer, acquired for VVP AVU Archive.

1/4Cover of the Marcel Duchamp exhibition catalogue, Prague, Václav Špála Gallery, 1969. Archive of Fine Art in Prague.

The Marcel Duchamp exhibition held at the Václav Špála Gallery was prepared with the help of Jindřich Chalupecký, an art critic deeply engaged with the work of Duchamp and who was personally in contact with the artist. Although he prepared the exhibition during the Prague Spring of 1968, it was not held until the following year. The catalogue, however, was completed during the tumultuous year of 1968. The postponement of the exhibition was probably not the result of the political changes or censorship, but due to the illness of Duchamp, who died on October 2nd, 1968. The exhibition was conceived as a retrospective presenting 63 objects.

The exhibition occupies an important position among shows linked to new experimental and conceptual art. It was not only a tribute to this exceptional artist, a key figure for conceptual art in the 1960s, but can also be viewed in retrospect as a significant contribution to the discussion on the essence of an artwork and its institutional presentation. Indeed, the exhibition included replicas of renowned ready-mades made by Milan gallerist, curator and publicist Arturo Schwarz. Duchamp himself supported this “series,” although it is still considered a controversial act. The passage in the catalogue addresses the list of exhibited works: “These replicas were issued by the Schwarz Gallery in Milan in 1964 in ten authorized copies. I’ve always regretted the nature of uniqueness that is the fate of painted works of art,” explains Duchamp, “and I saw in this a way out of the impasse, to give the ready-mades the freedom of repeatability that they had lost. If these ready-mades, which nobody has seen for forty or fifty years, once again see the light of day, I don’t see why anyone would object to copies being made of them just like they do with sculptures.”[1] Other items on display were sculptures, prints and drawings, as well as documents – e.g. the manuscript of the “Where Do We Go from Here?” lecture (ca. 1960) edited and signed by the artist. Even though this was an exhibition of unprecedented significance, it seems that, owing to the disruptions in society at that time, it took place without broader reflection and appreciation.

Bibliography:

Marcel Duchamp, exh. cat., Praha, Svaz československých výtvarných umělců, 1969.

Jindřich Chalupecký, Úděl umělce. Duchampovské meditace, Praha, Torst, 1998.

Pavlína Morganová – Terezie Nekvindová – Dagmar Svatošová, Výstava jako médium. České umění 1957−1999, AVU, Prague 2020.