Marcel Duchamp lovers rejoice. In April 2019, the Art Gallery of New South Wales will welcome the most comprehensive exhibition of his work ever to be seen in the Asia-Pacific region. The Essential Duchamp opens in October to mark the 50th anniversary of his death, with stops in Tokyo and Seoul.

Marcel Duchamp

The exhibition will consist of approximately 150 works and related documentary materials, sourced from across Duchamp’s 60-year career. Drawn from the Philadelphia Museum of Art – thought to possess the largest collection of works by Duchamp in the world – it also includes pieces from its library and archival holdings.

The exhibition offers a chronological look at Duchamp’s life and art, beginning with his experimental early period through to the remaining decades of his life when he had achieved legendary status in the art world. It features important early works such as Portrait of Dr. Dumouchel (1910), Sonata (1911), and Chocolate Grinder (No. 2) (1914), alongside many key works such as Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) (1912), which made Duchamp’s name when it was exhibited at the Armory Show in New York, 1913. The landmark work will be seen by Australian audiences for the first...