Exhibition Highlight・Artist
The First Brancusi Exhibition
at an Art Museum in Japan
While Brancusi is famed as a leading twentieth-century sculptor, until now no museum in Japan has held a major exhibition focusing primarily on his sculptural works. This exhibition is the first opportunity to experience his creations themselves.
Constantin BRANCUSI, Fish, 1924-26 (cast: 1992), Polished bronze, Brancusi Estate
Constantin BRANCUSI, Fish, 1924-26 (cast: 1992), Polished bronze, Brancusi Estate
A Gathering of over Twenty Sculptures, from Japan and Abroad, Covering His Early to Later Periods
This exhibition presents work by Brancusi from his early period, when he retained the influence of academic realism and Rodin, to the 1910s, when he reduced the forms of his subjects to their essence, and then the period from 1920 on when he made his subjects increasingly abstract, as in Bird. The exhibition thus achieves a thorough presentation from which we can glimpse Brancusi’s path as a sculptor.
Constantin BRANCUSI, Mademoiselle Pogany II, 1925 (cast: 2006) , Polished bronze, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation
Constantin BRANCUSI, Mademoiselle Pogany II, 1925 (cast: 2006) , Polished bronze, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation
Presenting his Multifaceted Aspects as a Creator
This exhibition also introduces paintings and photographs by Brancusi. While he consistently made sculpture the core of his creative work, his approach of exploring crosscutting fields, using other techniques in relation to his sculpture, is quintessentially modern. His acute awareness of the nature of his materials, evident in his sculptures, is also highly craftsmanlike. This exhibition highlights his many aspects as a creator.
Constantin BRANCUSI, View of the Studio, "The Endless Column", "Mademoiselle Pogany II", 1925, Gelatin silver print, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum
Constantin BRANCUSI, View of the Studio, "The Endless Column", "Mademoiselle Pogany II", 1925, Gelatin silver print, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum
Constantin Brancusi
（1876-1957）
Born in Hobiţa, Romania, Brancusi studied at the Bucharest School of Fine Arts, then moved to Paris in 1904. While invited to work as an assistant in Rodin’s studio, he held that position only briefly before leaving to engage in his own work. His sculptures have wild shapes influenced by the forms of non-western art such as African Sculpture discovered at the same period, while he sought elegant forms backed by his acute sense of his materials. Brancusi is known for the enormous influence he had on his contemporaries and artists of later generations.
Constantin Brancusi, 1924 (Photo by Katherine Dreier) Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation
Constantin Brancusi, 1924 (Photo by Katherine Dreier) Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation