How does one make sense of a purported link between mathematics, Shakespeare, and art? The answer lies within the oeuvre of Man Ray (1890–1976). The publication sets out to unravel the Surrealist puzzle. Commencing with his photographs of mathematical models he encountered at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris in the thirties, it charts a path culminating in his Shakespearean Equations (1949) series of oil paintings, which were inspired by the photographs and painted in Hollywood over a decade later. The arc the images strike from painting back to photography reveals the ease with which Ray moved between various disciplines and forged his own path. An inveterate experimenter, he pioneered artistic activities in the realms of painting, object making, film, and photography, challenging conventional boundaries and blurring established aesthetic categories. (German edition ISBN 978-7757-3792-0) Exhibitions: Kunstmuseum Basel, June 15–September 28, 2014 | The Art Institute of Chicago, May 17–October 4, 2015