Basel
Fondation Beyeler
At first glance, the works of Constantin Brancusi and Richard Serra have little in common. Serra’s work is an elegantly restrained analysis of how form can define and even dominate a space. His pragmatic and linear approach aims to contextualize the object within the inhabited space and physical reality of the viewer. In addition to its gestural qualities, Serra’s work always initiates a geometric contemplation. In contrast, Brancusi favored subjects and forms rooted in life. Some of his most famous abstractions were inspired by human heads, his muse Margit Pogány, or birds, for example. Even his most geometric work, Endless Column, a stack of rhomboidal modules, functions as the embodiment of the human dream to build a connection to the heavens. All of his works are defined by a unique stylistic blend of simplification, stylization, and genuine sensuality. It is their particular strength that no matter their size or subject matter, Brancusi’s sculptures always evoke a sense of intimacy. …see the entire review in the print version of December’s Sculpture magazine.
