Opening: Thursday August 7th, 6 p.m A work that was never exhibited and was known only through a single photograph revolutionized 20th‑century art. That urinal “signed” by Duchamp—which today exists in multiple editions—not only deconstructed the Benjaminian aura, but forever transformed the ideas of authorship, originality, authenticity, reproduction, and copying. Since then, many artists have freed themselves from the mandate of the unique and the unrepeatable, thus opening up a field where the copy acquires a political status. It is no longer merely about repetition, but about intervention, reappropriation, and transformation. The multiple becomes discourse, a critical gesture, a mode of circulation. The Unfaithful Copy brings together works that strain the boundaries between original and replica, authorship and appropriation. Some pieces are faithful reconstructions; others, divergent renditions. Certain copies have even been consecrated as originals. At times, copying becomes a practical strategy—a way to afford visibility to those works that cannot be moved, insured, or displayed. In an age rife with uncertainty over the intrinsic truth of an artwork, The Unfaithful Copy explores the various paths artists take as they question and reflect on art and the emancipatory power of images.
Image: Liliana Maresca, Carro, 1990-2003, Castagnino+macro Collection.