There’s no doubt that Marcel Duchamp is one of art history’s most influential artists, and the 97 objects by Duchamp on view in the gallery, are a testament to his enduring influence. Often regarded as the foremost progenitor of conceptual art, his works and ideas not only inspired the gallery’s name: L.A. Louver; but also, many of the artists that have shown within these gallery walls.

Ed Kienholz had the pleasure of meeting Marcel Duchamp in 1963, as Duchamp was mounting his historic retrospective at the then Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon). Arranged by the museum’s curator Walter Hopps, their meeting took place at the Green Hotel, where Duchamp stayed during his time in Pasadena. Kienholz later transcribed this encounter into the tableau Sollie 17, 1979-80 (pictured top). One might also see a connection between Duchamp’s readymade Bicycle Wheel, 1913 (bottom left) and Kienholz’s assemblage The Sky is Falling Act One, 1963 (bottom right).

Both artists shared a mutual respect for each other’s work. In the exhibition catalogue for Kienholz: A Retrospective, Walter Hopps wrote: “In 1963, the Surrealist dealer Alexander Iolas (through the arrangement with Virginia Dwan) was the first in New York to give Kienholz an exhibition. Marcel Duchamp saw that show… I asked him how he liked Kienholz’s exhibition, he leaned back, laughed and laughed, and slapped his hands on the table. ‘Marvelously vulgar artist. Marvelously vulgar. I like that work.’ When I told Kienholz about Duchamp’s comment, he was surprised… ‘Well that’s nice. I like his work too.’”

See work by both artists in the concurrent L.A. Louver exhibitions: Kienholz Televisions (through April 2, 2016) and A Marcel Duchamp Collection (through May 14, 2016).

IMAGE: (left to right) Marcel Duchamp, Bicycle Wheel, 1951 (third version, after lost original of 1913, Museum of Modern Art, NY;  Edward & Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Sollie 17 , 1979-80, mixed media assemblage, 10 x 28 x 14 ft. (3 x 8.5 x 4.3 m); Edward Kienholz, The Sky is Falling: Act One, 1963, mixed media assemblage, 45 x 24 x 22 in.(114.3 x 61 x 55.9 cm)