Galleria Continua Pairs Hank Willis Thomas With Man Ray In Italy

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Italy's Galleria Continua is presenting a new exhibition,“Tomorrow I Shall Contradict Myself,” which places American artist Hank Willis Thomas in conversation with early 20th-century Modernist Man Ray. The show is on view at the gallery's San Gimignano location through December 31, 2026, and at the St. Regis Hotel in Rome, a collaboration with Territorio, through the end of 2026.

The exhibition highlights the artists' shared creative interests and examines the similarities and differences in their respective practices. Thomas studied Man Ray's photograms and solarizations while a student at New York University, and he has cited Man Ray's inclination to challenge the confines of the photographic frame as a key influence. This interest directly informed Thomas's early photographic series,“A Thousand Words,” created in 1997.

According to Thomas, both he and Man Ray approach photography not as a mere record of reality, but as a medium to be explored and expanded. This shared philosophy is evident in Man Ray's darkroom manipulations and Thomas's retroreflective works, which reveal a secondary, hidden image only when illuminated directly.

Titled after a line written by Man Ray,“Tomorrow I Shall Contradict Myself” precisely illustrates the convergences and divergences between the two artists. Man Ray's rayographs, solarized photographs, and sculptural objects are exhibited alongside Thomas's marble sculptures. These sculptures achieve a monumental quality by adopting the material and scale of classical statuary, while simultaneously incorporating contemporary themes.

The exhibition also provides individual focus on each artist. Didactic texts trace Man Ray's artistic progression from Dada to Surrealism, and highlight Thomas's ongoing exploration of colonialism, representation, and collective memory. Thomas is also concurrently addressing these themes in“Afterimage,” his solo debut at Galleria Continua's Paris Matignon space. The presentations in San Gimignano and Rome offer a unique opportunity to see a contemporary artist's work in explicit dialogue with a historical figure he considers foundational, rather than simply influential.

Source: Artnet News

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