CS
In gallery space devoted to the permanent collection, the Guggenheim is showcasing its rich holdings of the work of Constantin Brancusi
(1876–1957). In the early decades of the twentieth century, Brancusi
produced an innovative body of work that altered the trajectory of
modern sculpture. During this period, Brancusi lived and worked in
Paris, then a thriving artistic center where many modernist tenets were
being developed and debated.
He became an integral part of these
conversations both through his relationships with other artists, such as
Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger, Amedeo Modigliani, and Henri Rousseau,
and through his own pioneering work. His aspiration to express the
essence of his subjects through simplified forms and his engagement with
non–Western European artistic traditions led to new stylistic
approaches. In addition, his mode of presentation, which equally
emphasized sculpture and base and in which works were shown in direct
relation to one another, instead of as independent entities, introduced
new ways of thinking about the nature of the art object.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum began collecting Brancusi’s work
in-depth in the mid-1950s under the leadership of its second director,
James Johnson Sweeney. When Sweeney began his tenure at the museum, the
collection was focused on nonobjective painting. Sweeney significantly
expanded the scope of the institution’s holdings, bringing in other
styles and mediums, particularly sculpture. The Guggenheim’s commitment
to Brancusi during these years extended beyond its collecting
priorities, and in 1955 the museum held the first major exhibition of
the artist’s work.
Supported in part by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York.
