Photography pioneer Man Ray celebrated with new coffee table book and exhibition

Man Ray is considered one of the most influential visual artists of the 20th Century, significantly contributing to the Dada and Surrealist art movements through his painting and photography.

A collection of over 150 photographs, including stills lifes and portraits, has been collated and showcased in a new exhibition and accompanying coffee table book titled Man Ray: Liberating Photography, curated by Nathalie Herschorfer and published by Thames & Hudson.

Ray was a pioneer of photography, pushing boundaries and experimenting with approaches and processes ahead of his time. His influence can be seen in many fine art photography trends even today, almost a century on, and his portraits taken in the 1920s and 1930s are the subject of the new book.  

Located in Paris during that time, Ray captured portraits of many contemporary artists from the Paris art scene such as Marcel Duchamp, Robert Delaunay, Georges Braque, Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso. Man Ray: Liberating Photography features some of these most famous portraits and some of his glamourous fashion work.

Ray formed long-lasting friendships with many of his subjects and used this as an excuse to use his photography studio as a playground to work on new approaches, techniques, and processes.  

One particular unique approach was a then-contemporary technique to photograms that he coined 'Rayographs'. These involved laying objects on photographic paper and exposing them to light, leaving behind hauntingly beautiful still lifes of everyday objects. 

In addition to his portraits, these can be found intertwined throughout the book and provide insight into how Ray's experimentations evolved and crossed genres.

Man Ray: Liberating Photography is a beautifully made and edited book that provides a great look at the work of Man Ray. Not often spoken about in modern photography, his work pushed the boundaries of the medium and helped develop its possibilities. The volume is a testament to his legacy and evidence of a true pioneer.

Thames & Hudson has been publishing some exceptional photography books of late with more exciting releases still to come later this year. I highly recommend checking out its recent releases, in particular its 'Photofile' series which provides greater accessibility, delivering the work of some of the greatest photographers of all time at a more affordable price point.  

Man Ray: Liberating Photography by Man Ray, Nathalie Herschdorfer, and Wendy Grossmanis is published by Thames & Hudson and is available to order now in the UK for £35 and preorder in the US for $50, with the US release scheduled for September 20.

The book was created to accompany the exhibition of the same name, which is on display at Photo Elysée, Switzerland, until August 04, 2024.  

You may also be interested in our guides to the best coffee table books, the best books on photography, and the best books on portrait photography.