There are so many museums in Paris and in this constellation of exhibitions there was one retrospective at Centre Pompidou, a tribute to Romanian born Constantin Brâncuși, pioneer of modern sculpture. Art worth traveling for.
This time in Paris (and everytime) I walked a lot. On my way to Pompidou I was walking on Rue de Rivoli, in the shadow of beautiful, historical buildings, lined up one after the other – as most streets are in the center of Paris. Best preview for what is to come.
Paris Paris Paris. Even though I already wrote on several occasions about Paris, the sculptor and my visits at the atelier at Centre Pompidou, I wanted to remember the special “Brâncuşi” exhibition, document the experience and the photographs in a time capsule of my own.
After visiting first in 2013 his Sculptural Ensemble in Romania and later, in 2016 his Paris atelier, I shared that I search for Brâncuși in European museums in my trips. This time, many of his pieces traveled to Paris from world museums and were reunited at Pompidou.
Exhibition Brancusi at the Centre Pompidou Paris, from March 27 to July 1, 2024
Art is just beginning is written on the exhibition booklet. Of course, art is also subjective. Like many other things in life. It depends a lot on how open we want to relate to it. However, I was inspired by this exhibition tribute, but not only.
It was the most extensive exhibition I have attended of a complex artist, with over 100 sculptures, but also portraits, photography, film and drawings or music collection. This was a celebration of a diverse range of arts. Even Brâncusi’s workplace was re-created after photographs by architect Renzo Piano. For me was also an elegant display. In the backdrop of it all was Paris.
Even though the pieces were created more than 100 years ago, all look timeless and contemporary. The New Yorker review titled “Brancusi Makes the Modern World Look Stale” noted that “in Paris, a rare retrospective shows that we still haven’t matched the sculptor’s grace, humor, and clear-eyed brilliance.”
The exhibition was well designed and thought out, divided into 12 sections (and I also wrote 12 paragraphs). Some parts were accompanied by Romanian folklore sounds and percussion music, from Brâncuși private collection. It was a complete cultural experience. I could hear around visitors speaking Romanian, French, English, Spanish or German, and most likely other languages.
The 12 sections of the exhibition are: Whiteness and Light, The Origins of a New Language, Woodwork, Timeline, Studio, Feminine and masculine, Portraits, Flight, Smooth and Raw, Reflection and motion, Animal, The Base of the Sky.
L’envol / Flight and Le socle du ciel / The base of the sky
One of the most beautiful sections out of the 12, called “Flight”, is with the sculpture “Bird in space” and is highlighted and well placed by a panoramic view of Paris. Before that, “Maiastra” was his abstract sculpture of a bird. I read there that the bird theme “from popular Romanian fairy tales (..) was to occupy Brancusi for three decades, resulting in over 30 variants in marble, bronze and plaster”.
“Nature creates plants that grow up straight and strong from the ground: here is my column, wrote Brâncuşi
However, my favorite section “The Base of the sky” is the last one, where the Infinity column or Endless column is displayed. In the audio guide / podcast that I was listening, the infinity motif is explained as a symbol of love, that becomes the metaphor of the artist. To me this column is the sculpture close to perfection. Lastly, it is written that “Brancusi always hoped to produce monumental works, as evidenced by his constant reworking of the Kiss motif“.
Read also – Brâncuși Week & the Infinity Column
As a final thought, in the Olympic summer, and before the Pompidou Center is closed many years for renovation, I am glad I had the opportunity to admire Paris preparing for the Games. I am more glad I attended this exhibition, not only because Brâncuşi was Romanian, but because he was talented. Because I could admire up close the details of the sculptures, learn more, and among his art is an unique energy I want to be part of.
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