An important exhibition in Milan tells the story of the lesser-known Man Ray: interview with the curator

The Gió Marconi gallery and Fondazione Marconi in Milan have launched a major retrospective titled "Man Ray: M for Dictionary," marking fifty years since the artist's passing. Curated by Yuval Etgar and Deborah D’Ippolito, the exhibition moves beyond Man Ray’s famous photography to highlight his role as a pioneer of conceptual and multimedia art. The show is organized into five thematic sections that explore his use of visual puns, experimental "Rayographs," and the transformative power of language across painting, drawing, and sculpture.

This exhibition is significant because it recontextualizes a canonical figure of the 20th-century avant-garde, emphasizing his identity as a painter and thinker rather than just a photographer. By focusing on the linguistic foundations of his work, the curators demonstrate how Man Ray used wordplay and titles to reinvent reality. Furthermore, the show honors the historical relationship between the artist and the Marconi family, whose original Studio Marconi hosted Man Ray’s first Milanese solo exhibition in 1969.