Victor Brauner (1903-1966) and
\nConstantin Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i (1876-1957) are the two most important Romanian cultural
\nand artistic figures to enjoy strong international recognition. Victor Brauner was a Surrealist painter,
\nsculptor and poet, while Constantin Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i is widely acknowledged as the
\nfounder of modern sculpture. Two extensive exhibitions are dedicated to these
\ntwo outstanding artists in Timi\u0219oara, the Romanian city which this year is
\nholding the title of European capital of culture. The first exhibition is
\ncalled Victor Brauner: Invention and magic and is held between 17th
\nFebruary and 28th May, while the second, entitled Constantin
\nBr\u00e2ncu\u0219i: Romanian sources and universal perspectives is held between 30th
\nSeptember this year and 28th January next year. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We had a talk with Ovidiu \u0218andor,
\nthe president of the Art Encounters Foundation, a co-organiser of the events,
\nabout these two exhibitions and the Art Encounters Biennale, which is taking
\nplace in Timi\u0219oara between 19th May and 16th July: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Art Encounters Foundation is
\npartnering with the National Art Museum and the French Institute to take part
\nin the European Capital of Culture programme. It’s a very ambitious programme,
\nwith lots of extraordinary events in all areas. As far as our foundation is
\nconcerned, it is involved in the staging of the Victor Brauner exhibition, the
\nfirst real retrospective of this artist in his home country, where he is
\nunfortunately too little known, something we’re hoping to change. Many of the
\nworks on display are on loan from the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and others are
\nbrought over from various museums around the country. I think this exhibition
\nwill give the public an opportunity to rediscover this Surrealist artist who is
\nvery important internationally. A Romanian Jew, his life was marked by the
\nSecond World War, and judging by what happens today, his life story is still
\nrelevant. The next event is the Art Encounters Biennale, which is already in
\nits 5th year. This year’s special edition will be looking at the
\nrelationship between art and technology in an exhibition organised by the Swiss
\ncurator Adrian Notz. While the other two exhibitions are dedicated to
\nwell-known artists, the Biennale is the kind of event that focuses on the
\ncontribution of the young generation of artists from Romania and from eastern
\nEurope and of international artists whose work encapsulates today’s trends, the
\nway we relate to art, to technology and to everything around us. 30th
\nof September will see the opening of the Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i exhibition, the first
\nretrospective dedicated to the sculptor in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe
\nin the last 50 years. It will bring together, to Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i’s home country, his
\nlater works on loan from museums such as the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Tate
\nModern in London and the Guggenheim Foundation in Venice, alongside some of his
\nearly works, many of which can be found in museums across Romania, such as the
\nNational Museum of Art in Bucharest and the National Museum on Art in Craiova.
\nThis exhibition is also organised together with the National Museum of Art in
\nTimi\u0219oara and the French Institute.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Ovidiu \u0218andor also offered more
\ndetails about the content of the exhibition dedicated to Victor Brauner:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Victor Brauner exhibition
\nwill bring together many works, mostly paintings, as he was best-known as a
\npainter, as well as drawings. The works date from the time he lived and worked
\nin Romania, especially in Bucharest, in the 1920s and 30s, when he was one of
\nthe most important artists of the avant-garde movement in the capital city, as
\nwell as from the time he lived in France, from the 1940s until his death in the
\n1960s. So, the works will cover his
\nentire career. The exhibition also features some of his sculptures and an
\ninterview with Victor Brauner on film. Visitors will be able to see some of his
\nmost famous works, including his self-portrait with an injured eye, as if
\nforeshadowing an event that would happen in real life a few years later, when a
\nfriend injured his eye during a bar fight. This kind of premonition is very
\nmuch in line with the Surrealist philosophy, according to which there’s a
\nhidden relationship between reality and unreality, between life and dream and
\nbetween fact and magic.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Ovidiu \u0218andor also unveiled some
\nof the surprises of the big Constantin Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i retrospective:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The exhibition will feature a
\nsignificant number of sculptures, both early works and works he produced later.
\nCurated by Doina Lemny, the exhibition explores Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i’s transformation from
\na young artist who leaves Romania imbued with the local tradition and culture
\nand who arrives in Paris, where he discovers on his own an impressive
\ninternational world. The exhibition highlights the transformation undergone by
\nhis works to reach those refined forms of universal significance. Apart from
\nhis sculptures, visitors will be able to see a considerable amount of
\nphotographs taken by Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i, with photography being an element of his work
\nthat is little known and appreciated in Romania. At some point, Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i
\ndiscovered photography and began to take photos of his works in his studio,
\nspending a lot of time carefully positioning them and waiting for the right
\nlight to take pictures of them in various positions and various combinations of
\nbases. In my opinion, Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i teaches us in these photographs how to look at
\nhis sculptures. The exhibition will also contain drawings by Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i,
\ncorrespondence with friends from Romania, as well as videos, both footage
\nfilmed by the artist himself and by other important artists of the day showing
\nBr\u00e2ncu\u0219i working.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As European Capital of Culture, Timi\u0219oara plays host to two major exhibitions dedicated to two great 20th century Romanian artists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":164204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44685],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-164203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-of-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n