Marcel Duchamp
1887-1968 · French-American (Blainville/New York) · Dada / Conceptual Art
Known for: Anti-art provocateur who submitted a urinal as sculpture and then spent 30 years playing chess
Duchamp submitted a store-bought urinal signed 'R. Mutt' to an exhibition in 1917 and called it art - the most consequential philosophical grenade in art history. His readymades questioned every assumption about art and opened the door to everything postmodern.
He largely stopped making art in his 30s and played chess for decades, secretly working on his final installation for 20 years. He was ironic, playful, and impossible to pin down.
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