"While working late in his Paris darkroom in 1921, the artist inadvertently placed some glass equipment on top of an unexposed sheet of photographic paper. Eventually, a phantom image formed, captivating his attention and spurring a new form he called rayographs. These pieces are among 160 works featured in a new show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Man Ray: When Objects Dream will be on view from September 14 through February 1, 2026."
"As he wrote in his 1963 autobiography, "Before my eyes an image began to form, not quite a simple silhouette of the objects as in a straight photograph, but distorted and refracted ... In the morning I examined the results, pinning a couple of the Rayographs as I decided to call them on the wall. They looked startlingly new and mysterious.""
"The title of the show, When Objects Dream, references a line from poet Trista Tzara who was witness to some of Man Ray's earliest rayographs. Indeed, the exhibition feels dreamlike as it moves from in a loosely chronological fashion through the artist's work, from paintings to photographs and sculptures to more conceptual works. The show also underscores Man Ray's connections to Dada and Surrealist movements. A section of botanical prints references so-called"
Man Ray discovered rayographs in 1921 by placing glassware on unexposed photographic paper, producing cameraless, phantom images. The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents 160 works in Man Ray: When Objects Dream, on view September 14 through February 1, 2026. The show opens with a grid of twelve black-and-white rayographs titled Champs délicieux that depict everyday objects like a comb and a key. Ray described the images as distorted, refracted silhouettes that felt new and mysterious. The exhibition moves loosely chronologically across paintings, photographs, sculptures, and conceptual pieces, emphasizing connections to Dada and Surrealism and including botanical print studies.
Read at Time Out New York
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]