Shadows
Material: Handwoven wool tapestry by Atelier 3, Paris.
Serial: edition/6
Dimensions: 2 × 1.5 m (78×59 in.)
Project date: 1913 (from the Revolving Doors series)
Weaving date: c. 1975
Rare colorful tapestries, on display in our New York showroom
Modern Masters Tapestries exclusive with Atelier 3.
Detailed information
Man Ray “Shadows” Tapestry
The Modern Masters Tapestries is proud to unveil “Shadows”, a mesmerizing tapestry intricately woven after the visionary works of Man Ray. As a central figure of the Dada and Surrealist movements, Man Ray was fascinated by the unseen, the ephemeral, and the poetic potential of light and form. In “Shadows”, this fascination takes center stage—turning absence into presence, and negative space into an active, evocative force. The tapestry explores contrast and ambiguity, where silhouettes and outlines suggest figures, objects, or emotions without ever fully revealing them. Every thread invites the viewer into an atmospheric, dreamlike space that reflects Man Ray’s deep engagement with the subconscious and the abstract.
Created in collaboration with the master artisans of Atelier 3 Workshop, “Shadows” transforms Man Ray’s conceptual depth into a tactile, immersive textile. The workshop’s renowned craftsmanship captures the delicate balance of precision and mystery, rendering soft gradients, stark edges, and layered forms with remarkable nuance. The result is a visual and sensory experience—where what is hidden feels as present as what is revealed. “Shadows” stands as a powerful homage to Man Ray’s lifelong exploration of perception, symbolism, and the poetic weight of what lies just beyond the visible.
The Revolving Doors Series
“Shadows” finds a strong conceptual echo in Man Ray’s Revolving Doors series—a set of ten abstract collages from the 1910s that explore transition, ambiguity, and the geometry of perception. These works, defined by their rhythmic interplay of form and color, treat abstraction as a threshold—a means of suggesting transformation, movement, or psychological passage.
The same approach animates “Shadows”, where layered shapes and tonal contrasts imply motion and depth without narrative constraint. The tapestry’s formal composition—structured yet elusive—mirrors the spatial tension of the Revolving Doors series, grounding Man Ray’s early explorations in a new, tactile form. By weaving this legacy into “Shadows”, the tapestry bridges the realms of early modernist collage and contemporary textile art, reaffirming the timeless relevance of Man Ray’s radical vision and his enduring power to evoke meaning through the intangible.
Detailed information
Man Ray “Shadows” Tapestry
The Modern Masters Tapestries is proud to unveil “Shadows”, a mesmerizing tapestry intricately woven after the visionary works of Man Ray. As a central figure of the Dada and Surrealist movements, Man Ray was fascinated by the unseen, the ephemeral, and the poetic potential of light and form. In “Shadows”, this fascination takes center stage—turning absence into presence, and negative space into an active, evocative force. The tapestry explores contrast and ambiguity, where silhouettes and outlines suggest figures, objects, or emotions without ever fully revealing them. Every thread invites the viewer into an atmospheric, dreamlike space that reflects Man Ray’s deep engagement with the subconscious and the abstract.
Created in collaboration with the master artisans of Atelier 3 Workshop, “Shadows” transforms Man Ray’s conceptual depth into a tactile, immersive textile. The workshop’s renowned craftsmanship captures the delicate balance of precision and mystery, rendering soft gradients, stark edges, and layered forms with remarkable nuance. The result is a visual and sensory experience—where what is hidden feels as present as what is revealed. “Shadows” stands as a powerful homage to Man Ray’s lifelong exploration of perception, symbolism, and the poetic weight of what lies just beyond the visible.
The Revolving Doors Series
“Shadows” finds a strong conceptual echo in Man Ray’s Revolving Doors series—a set of ten abstract collages from the 1910s that explore transition, ambiguity, and the geometry of perception. These works, defined by their rhythmic interplay of form and color, treat abstraction as a threshold—a means of suggesting transformation, movement, or psychological passage.
The same approach animates “Shadows”, where layered shapes and tonal contrasts imply motion and depth without narrative constraint. The tapestry’s formal composition—structured yet elusive—mirrors the spatial tension of the Revolving Doors series, grounding Man Ray’s early explorations in a new, tactile form. By weaving this legacy into “Shadows”, the tapestry bridges the realms of early modernist collage and contemporary textile art, reaffirming the timeless relevance of Man Ray’s radical vision and his enduring power to evoke meaning through the intangible.
