Brancusi: Carving the Essence

30 March [Sat] - 7 July [Sun], 2024

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The sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), who was born in Romania, is known as a pioneering artist who, through his exploration of pure form, carved out new territory in twentieth-century sculpture, post Rodin. This exhibition makes his sculptures its core in weaving together, through his two-dimensional works such as fresco, tempera, drawing, and photographs, showcasing the totality of Brancusi’s artistic activities. It is the first exhibition at an art museum in Japan to present Brancusi comprehensively. About ninety exhibits include over twenty sculptures on loan from the Brancusi Estate and museums and other collections in Japan and abroad, plus paintings, and photography.

Biography

Constantin Brancusi, 1924 (Photo by Katherine Dreier) Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

Constantin Brancusi

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.

Exhibition overview

Exhibition title: Brancusi: Carving the Essence

Exhibition period: 30 March [Sat] - 7 July [Sun], 2024

Opening hours: 10:00 – 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays except May 3) *Last entry 30 minutes before closing.

Closed: Mondays (except April 29, May 6), April 30, May 7

Organizer: Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation, The Asahi Shimbun

Under the auspices of: Embassy of France / Institut français du Japon, Embassy of Romania

Venue: 6F Gallery

Concurrent Exhibitions: Selections from the Ishibashi Foundation Collection （5-4F Galleries）
Special Section SHIMIZU Takashi（4F Gallery）

Ticket prices (incl. tax)

	On-line ticket	In-Person ticket (purchase at museum)
General	1,800 yen　*Credit card payments only	2,000 yen
University college high school students	Free entry　Advance booking required Please present student ID upon entry.
Disabled visitors (plus one accompanying assistant)	Free entry　Advance booking not required Please present disabled person’s handbook upon entry.
Children through junior high school	Free entry　Advance booking not required

*Online tickets must be purchased up to 10 minutes before the end of each time slot.
*Booking is not accepted when a time slot is full.
*In-Person ticket may be purchased at the museum, if the time slot is not full.
*This admission fee gives the visitor access to the concurrent exhibitions.

Art works

Constantin BRANCUSI, The Kiss, 1907-10, Plaster, H 28.0 cm, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

Constantin BRANCUSI, Mademoiselle Pogany II, 1925 (cast: 2006) , Polished bronze, H. 44.8cm, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

Constantin BRANCUSI, View of the Studio, "The Endless Column", "Mademoiselle Pogany II", 1925, Gelatin silver print, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Constantin BRANCUSI, Suffering, 1907, Bronze, 29.2×28.8×22.3cm, The Art Institute of Chicago/ Art Resource, NY

Constantin BRANCUSI, Sleeping Muse, c. 1910-1911, Plaster, 19.0×28.0×19.5cm, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka (On display until May 12)

Constantin BRANCUSI, Standing Boy, c.1913, Tempera on paper, 57.9×33.7cm, Menard Art Museum

Constantin BRANCUSI, The Cock, 1924 (cast: 1972), Bronze, 92.4×10.5×45.0cm, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art

Constantin BRANCUSI, Fish, 1924-26 (cast: 1992), Polished bronze, 13.5×42.0×3.0cm, Brancusi Estate

Constantin BRANCUSI, Bird in Space, 1926 (cast: 1982), Bronze on marble and limestone base, 132.4×35.5×35.5cm, Yokohama Museum of Art

Constantin BRANCUSI, Sophisticated Young Lady (Portrait of Nancy Cunard), 1928-32 (cast: 2013), Polished bronze, 54.9 x 14.9 x 21.9 cm , Brancusi Estate