Constantin Brancusi

"The Endless Column Ensemble, by famed Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), has been hailed as one of the great works of twentieth-century public art. Commissioned by the National League of Gorj Women to honour the soldiers who had defended the town of Targu Jiu against a German force in 1916, the tripartite ensemble, erected between 1937 and 1938, is composed of the Endless Column, a 30-metre-high column of zinc and brass-clad, cast-iron modules, and two stone monuments: the Table of Silence and Gate of the Kiss." "Over the years the elements took their toll on the sculpture, and although the Column's modules had been re-plated several times since its construction, by the 1990s it was in dire need of conservation. This illustrated volume celebrates the history of this extraordinary work of art and tells the story of its recent restoration, landscaping and presentation, supported in large part by the World Monuments Fund (WMF)."--Jacket.

"The starting point for this book is the work of Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), as expressed in his reduction of volume to tease out formal essence. Some thirty-five exemplary works by Brancusi, among them 'The Kiss' and the 'Column of the Infinite', thus initiate a line of inquiry into the essence and the possibilities of sculpture, the discussion of which continues with a selection of works from different periods by Richard Serra (born 1939), whose art opens up new 'ways of seeing' to his viewers. The resulting juxtaposition of Brancusi's sensuous modeling of marble, bronze, wood, and plaster with Serra's minimalist steel sculptures set in motion a fascinating dialogue. The essays by Friedrich Teja Bach, Alfred Pacquement, Oliver Wick, and others conspire with the concentrated selection of works to underscore not only the contrasts between these two pioneering artists, but also their common ground enabling the reader to experience anew the universal power of sculpture."--Jacket.