PURE JOY: TWO ROMANIAN MASTERS OF MODERN SCULPTURE May 21 – June 2, 2006 Is a unique exhibiton of photography and sculture with works by: Constantin Brancusi ( 1876 – 1957 ) And Patriciu Mateescu ( b. 1927 ) Brancusi opened a new road in the history of modern sculpture. Mateescu has understood and followed, in his own personal way, this road. Both sculptors left Romania, their country of origin, and worked in Western Europe and the United States, and have sculptures exhibited in California. Reception: Sunday, May 21, 2006 4PM -7:30PM West Gallery – CSUN Curator: Professor Ileana Costea, CSUN Co-organizers: Ileana Costea and Ligia Toutant The exhibitions will presents photographs of works by Brancusi and Mateescu, and some sculptures by Mateescu from his Californian period from private collection. Ceramist Patriciu Mateescu working at “Heavenly Hands” Artist in Residence, CSUN, Summer 2002  Brancusi settled in Paris in 1904. His early work was influenced by the French master Rodin, by Romanian folk wooden sculpture, as well as African and Oceanic art. Brancusi began an evolutionary search for pure form. His genius consists in a simultaneous coexistence of simplicity, achieved by reducing his work to basics elements while maintaining a sense of gravity, and complexity of thought. A pioneer of abstract sculpture, he influenced numerous famous artists, such as Isamu Noguchi, Henry Moore, Modigliani, etc. Works of Brancusi can be found in most major museums around the World: Europe, the United States, and Australia. A reproduction of Brancusi’s workshop was created at the Museum of Modern Art George Pompidou, Paris, France. Brancusi had sculptures presented in several galleries in the United States while alive, and his works are continuously included in exhibitions. An important show, “ Constantin Brancusi: The Essence of Things” took place in 2004 at both The Tate Modern, London, January – May, and The Guggenheim Museum, New York: June – September. The list of American museums which own pieces by Brancusi is very large: The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Art Institute of Chicago; Hirshhorn Museums and Sculpture Garden, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, to name only a few. |
Copyright © Consulate General of Romania 2004
