Skip to content

Richard Serra meets Constantin Brancusi at the Guggenheim Bilbao

Serra and Brancusi

Left: Richard Serra, New York, 1987.
Photo: Serra Studio, New York / Nancy Lee Katz
Right: Constantin Brancusi in his studio, ca. 1933–34
Photograph by the artist
Photo: © Collection Centre Pompidou, dist. by RMN, Paris /
© 2011, Constantin Brancusi in Musée national d’art moderne – Centre GeorgesPompidou, Paris, artist’s bequest / Georges Meguerditchian

Serra meets Brancusi at the Guggenheim Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao presents ‘Serra-Brancusi’, the most ambitious exhibition ever devoted to the work of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century: Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957) and Richard Serra (born 1938).

From October 8, 2011, through April 15, 2012

]]>

Source: Guggenheim Bilbao / theartwolf.com

“Serra-Brancusi” brings the work of Constantin Brancusi and Richard Serra face-to-face. The Romanian-born artist Constantin Brancusi “reduced sculptural forms to their bare essentials and, in so doing, laid the foundations of abstract sculpture“, as the Museum says in a press release. “Half a century later” -the press note continues- “American artist Richard Serra redefined the effects of sculpture by creating minimalist steel pieces which literally draw the viewer into the work“.

The exhibition features thirty works by Brancusi, including “The Kiss (Le Baiser )”, “Birds in Space (Oiseaux dans l’espace)”, “Adam and Eve (Adam et Ève”), and the iconic “White Negress(La Négresse blanche”). The selection of works by Richard Serra ranges from early pieces such as “Belts” (1966–67) to characteristic steel sculptures like “Circuit (1972)” or “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8” (1987).

A series of educational spaces have been prepared in conjunction with this show, allowing visitors to gain a better understanding of the exhibition. The Museum Auditorium will host the Sculpture Network’s 10th International Sculpture Forum on November 10, 11, and 12, with the participation of artists such as Tony Cragg and Susan Philips.

The exhibition -curated by Oliver Wick- is organized by the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in co-operation with the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel, and it is accompanied with an illustrated catalogue.

Related content

Greenpoint Rounds – Richard Serra at Gagosian Gallery (exhibition, 2010)
Guggenheim Bilbao: ‘Painterly Abstraction, 1949–1969’ (exhibition, 2011-2012)

Follow us on:

Richard Serra meets Constantin Brancusi at the Guggenheim Bilbao