Installation view: Man Ray & Picabia, Vito Schnabel Gallery, New York, 2021;
Photo by Argenis Apolinario; Man Ray works © Man Ray 2015 Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2021; Francis Picabia works © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
In an intimate show of nine paintings, Vito Schnabel brings to life a dialogue between the artists Man Ray and Francis Picabia—arguably under-appreciated modern-era masters.
For Schnabel—son of the painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel —the exhibition features quintessential examples of works by two of his favorite artists, including Man Ray’s Non-Abstraction, 1947, and Picabia’s Helias, circa 1930.
Both are known to the arts community, but not the general public, he says, perhaps because these masters worked across artistic movements and genres. Man Ray is known for his photography, and roots in Dadaism, but few realize the extent of his painting and sculpture. Although he grew up in Brooklyn, and lived in New Jersey for a time, it’s often assumed he’s French since he spent much of his career in Paris.