Second station as of October 2011: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Fondation Beyeler devotes its big summer show to the works of Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) and Richard Serra (b. 1939), two of the greatest sculptors of the 20th Century. Brancusi, born in Romania and working in Paris from 1904 until his death, laid the basis for abstract sculpture with his form finding reduced to the essentials. The American Serra redefined the scope of sculpture with his minimalist steel sculptures by integrating the viewer directly into the work. The presence of sculptural form in space is in the foreground. Together, the works of the two pioneers of European and American sculpture cover the period of over one hundred years in which modern sculpture developed.
The main aspects of Brancusi's sculptural work are examined by means of 40 exemplary sculptures, which are allocated to various thematic groups in the exhibition. Among the works shown as ensembles, there are several variants of the monolithic sculpture. In a photo cabinet, a selection of twenty original photographs are presented which reveal information about Brancusi's own artistic perspective.
The question of the nature of sculpture is taken up in ten selected works by Richard Serra, originating from various phases. In addition, a new series of works will be shown on paper. The retrospective selection of works in turn includes Serra's early works in rubber and lead, as well as his characteristic steel sculptures.
The sculptural work of Constantin Brancusi is shown for the first time in the form of a retrospective in Switzerland, as well as the work of Richard Serra, which has never been seen before in such a comprehensive manner.
The loans in the exhibition come from renowned private collections and major museums. Curated by Oliver Wick, the exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler is produced in partnership with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which is forseen as a second station (8.10.2011-15.4.2012)
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated, scholarly catalog published in separate editions in English, German and Spanish at Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern.
244 pages, 176 illustrations, CHF 68 -, ISBN 978-3-905632-88-0.
22 May until 21 August 2011
FONDATION BEYELER, Baselstrasse 101, CH-4125 Riehen / Basel
Tel. +41 - (0)61 - 645 97 00