For Art Basel Miami Beach, Bruce Silverstein Gallery proposes an exhibition of Constantin Brancusi’s photographs—rare vintage prints by the artist from the 1920s and 30s.
Brancusi’s photographic works have been the subject of recent institutional exhibitions and are now gaining attention within the art world as masterpieces of the photographic medium. An avid image-maker, Brancusi was trained in photography and print making by the artist Man Ray. Brancusi’s inclination toward the medium originally stemmed from the sculptor’s insistence that photographic reproductions of his sculptural works destined for interested clients be created and printed by Brancusi himself. From the early 1920s, Brancusi began to develop a unique camera vision and perspective, oftentimes re-interpreting his sculptural works via intense lighting and high-contrast printing. His photographs became not only a tool by which to elucidate and highlight his vision for his sculptures, but also forays into a medium which most obviously inspired him. Brancusi also produced a number of film and moving image works—avant-garde explorations of form moving in space as well as quotidian notations of his studio and surroundings. In a very bold, anti-purist fashion, he would often make photographic enlargements from his film stills—further satisfying his creative pursuits toward image creation.
