Brancusi. Scolpire il volo

The collection of essays accompanies the exhibition of the same name presented in the Farnese Aviary of the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo from 13 February to 11 May 2025.

Bound to remain in the bookstores well after the duration of the exhibition, the volume fills a gap in the Italian bibliography of Constantin Brancusi, the sculptor who invented modernity, the subject of an important anthological exhibition last year at the Centre Pompidou. And Ariane Coulondre, curator of the Parisian retrospective, is responsible for the original opening text of the book, which explores the life and works of Brancusi in the light of the most recent studies, and the role played by his atelier, the historical matrix of all his creativity. Philippe-Alain Michaud, director of the Centre Pompidou’s experimental cinema department, has contributed the essay on the photographs and films made by Brancusi himself (assisted by his friend Man Ray, who initiated him into these disciplines). Photography was equally important and decisive in Brancusi’s work and its interpretation and communication. Finally, a text by Maria Laura Cavaliere analyses the relationship of Brancusi’s art with antiquity.

The volume closes with the valuable contributions to the analysis of Brancusi’s work that appeared in the magazine Riga. Elio Grazioli explores the relationship between Brancusi and Duchamp; Serge Fauchereau examines Brancusi’s atelier as a place of life, work and contemplation; Michele Dantini reflects on the relationship between the artist and the modernist tradition.

The images of the exhibition at the Farnese Aviary enrich the illustrations from the archives of the Centre Pompidou and complete the volume.

Bilingual volume in Italian and English. Translations by Nicholas Hunt and Adam Victor for Scriptum, Rome.