The Museum of Modern Art in New York has opened "Marcel Duchamp," the first retrospective of the artist on this continent in over 50 years. Curated by Ann Temkin, Michelle Kuo, and Matthew Affron, the exhibition is organized strictly chronologically and features Duchamp's most famous works—including his revolutionary readymades like *Fountain* (1917) and *Bicycle Wheel* (1913)—often shown only in photographic reproduction or as later refabricated copies, replicas, and miniatures from his *Box in a Valise* series. The show highlights how Duchamp's original objects have been lost or dematerialized, forcing viewers to confront the very definition of an artwork.
This exhibition matters because it reexamines Duchamp's enduring challenge to the art world's foundational concepts of originality, authorship, and what constitutes art. By presenting replicas and photographs rather than originals, MoMA's curators underscore Duchamp's radical dematerialization of the art object—a move that continues to influence contemporary art and institutional practice. The show also reminds audiences of Duchamp's pivotal role in shifting art from visual craft to conceptual provocation, a legacy that remains central to debates in museums, galleries, and art schools today.