Museum in a Box

"Everything important that I have done can be put into a little suitcase," Duchamp said in 1952: finally that suitcase is available to all

One of the most important and enigmatic pieces of modernist art, "Bo te-en-valise" (Box in a Valise) was assembled by Marcel Duchamp between 1935 and 1941. The portable suitcase contains "the sum of his artistic work" up to that point. Perhaps in premonition of the coming war, and over years without a fixed address, Duchamp reproduced his work in a format that enabled him to easily transport his "complete works" at any time. Though the artist eventually made 300 copies of his box, many are behind glass in museums and private collections.

This is the first ever reinterpretation of the legendary book-object, conceptualized by French artist Mathieu Mercier and now available to a broader audience. At once a work in and of itself, and a reproduction in the Duchampian spirit, this miniature museum contains 69 reproductions of Duchamp's most celebrated creations, including the famous "Fountain," Nude Descending a Staircase" and the "Large Glass." Mercier has reproduced the bulk of the contents of Duchamp's original box in paper form, designing everything to scale. Playful and accessible, the "Bo te" reflects Duchamp's desire to display his works outside the museum and gallery system.

Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) studied painting in Paris. In 1912 he exhibited his controversial "Nude Descending a Staircase," and by 1913 he had abandoned traditional painting and drawing for more experimental forms, including mechanical drawings, studies and notations. In 1914 he introduced his readymades. Duchamp became associated with the Dada movement in Paris and in New York, where he settled permanently in 1942.