Dialogues are mostly fried snowballs Duchamp and Sturtevant engage in dialogue in an exhibition in Milan
By Margherita Antoni
Between gesture, memory and critical vision, at Thaddeus Ropac gallery in Milan, the exhibition Dialogues are mostly fried snowballs analyses the relationship between the two great artists Duchamp and Sturtevant, highlighting the potential of ready-mades, the re-adaptation of historical paradigms and the evocation of alternative hermeneutic maps.
The objects chosen by Marcel Duchamp (France, 1887–1968), such as the Bottle Rack (Porte-bouteilles, 1914/64) and Fountain (1917), acquire value through the artist's selective act. The decision itself takes on the role of a creative principle: “The most important idea emerging from my work renews each sign into a theoretical device and guides the perceiver towards a deeper understanding.”
Elaine Sturtevant (USA, 1924–2014) intervenes on consolidated models, revealing how environment and time redefine the meaning of the work. Her versions of Fountain and rotoreliefs create unconventional perspectives and unexpected sequences. In her own words, she declared: “Originality is too limiting. Being a great artist is the least interesting thing I can think of.” Reproduction thus becomes a tool of investigation, capable of generating new readings.
