On the occasion of celebrating Constantin Brâncuși National Day, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing is pleased to invite you to a series of special events—a photography exhibition and film screening at the ICR Beijing headquarters, and two academic conferences at Peking University and Tsinghua University, from February 19 to March 19, 2025, as follows:
I. February 19, Constantin Brâncuși Day – Opening of the photographic document exhibition The Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu – Constantin Brâncuși’s Masterpiece inscribed in 2024 on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and screening of the documentary film Brâncuși. The Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu, Romania (15 min).
The Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu in Romania represents Brâncuși's fulfilled dream. The artist designed a monument in the capital of his native region that is tied to Romania and Europe's history at the beginning of the 20th century. This monument has gained the significance and value of a place for reflection on love and death, or in other words, on existence itself. This ensemble constitutes the most precious legacy that Brâncuși left to the Romanian people.
The exhibition The Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu – Constantin Brâncuși’s Masterpiece, inscribed in 2024 on the UNESCO World Heritage list, at the ICR Beijing headquarters in Galaxy SOHO presents photographs of this unique monumental ensemble created by the Romanian artist, taken by photographer Ion Miclea, who published the first album in 1973 featuring the constituent elements: the Endless Column, The Kiss Gate, and The Table of Silence. The photographs belong to the Bucharest Municipal Library.
During the exhibition, the film Brâncuși: The Monumental Sculptural Ensemble of Târgu Jiu in Romania will be screened, produced at the initiative of the Romanian delegation of the S&D group in the European Parliament, under the coordination of Doina Lemny.
The exhibition can be visited from Monday to Friday, between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, at the ICR Beijing headquarters in Galaxy SOHO, until March 19.
The sculptural ensemble by Constantin Brâncuși from Târgu Jiu, also known as the Calea Eroilor Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu, is a tribute to the fallen heroes during World War I, designed and built by Constantin Brâncuși. The four sculptural components — The Table of Silence, The Alley of Chairs, The Kiss Gate, and The Endless Column — are aligned along the same axis, oriented from west to east, with a length of 1275 meters. The sculptural ensemble was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The monument was commissioned by the League of Gorj Women "Arethia Tatarescu" to honor the soldiers who defended the city of Târgu Jiu in 1916 against the Central Powers. At the time, Constantin Brâncuși (1876–1957) was living in Paris but gladly accepted the invitation to create a large commemorative sculpture in his homeland. He accepted the commission in 1935 and refused to be paid.
The Table of Silence is a circular stone table surrounded by twelve hourglass-shaped chairs symbolizing time. The meaning of Brâncuși's sculpture has been interpreted in various ways. Some art historians argue that the Table of Silencerepresents the moment before a confrontation, as the chairs are not placed close to the edge of the table. Others consider that it symbolizes The Last Supper, where the twelve apostles are seated around Jesus, with the chairs representing the apostles and the table symbolizing Christ himself. The Alley of Chairs, consisting of two stone benches and 30 square stone chairs (hourglass-shaped), is arranged on either side of the alley in groups of three, linking the Table of Silence and the Kiss Gate, located towards the east, at the park entrance. It was created between 1937-1938.
The Kiss Gate, built from Banpotoc travertine (marble), is the gate that leads to another life. It is sculpted with two motifs of the kiss, which are also interpreted as eyes looking inward. The entire gate is 6.45 meters wide and 5.13 meters tall.
The Endless Column, or the "infinite sacrifice," considered by Sidney Geist as the pinnacle of modern art, represents the artist's true "spiritual testament," an axis mundi, seemingly meant to support the sky for eternity. It symbolizes the sacrifice of Romanian soldiers. It consists of 15 rhomboidal modules, with an incomplete module both at the top and bottom, totaling 16 modules. It is believed that the incomplete top element expresses the concept of infinity.
Brâncuși experimented with this form as early as 1918, creating a version in oak wood, now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA). The modules were made at the Petroșani Central Workshops, assembled by engineer Ștefan Georgescu-Gorjan (1905–1985), a close friend of Brâncuși, and completed on October 27, 1938. The 16 rhomboidal modules form a column with a total height of 29.3 meters.
The ensemble was inaugurated on October 27, 1938, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024. This inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage list represents well-deserved international recognition for the great Romanian artist and his monumental masterpiece.
II. Series of Conferences by Doina Lemny
March 7 – Conference "Constantin Brâncuși and His Muses: From Model to Work", by art historian Doina Lemny at the Faculty of Arts, Peking University.
Brâncuși's work is intimately linked to his life, the environment in which he lived, and the friends who frequented his studio. Doina Lemny, who believes that the work is part of the artist's life dedicated entirely to creation, aims to shed new light on his relationships with women, inspiring or protective muses: friends, lovers, collaborators. Adored and even venerated by all the women who visited his studio, Brâncuși is remembered by his friends and contemporaries as a great seducer, the subject of many fantasies. His personality, projected in an enchanting aura, inspired confidence and attracted sensitive hearts that dreamed of great love. From Baroness Renée Irana Frachon — the model for The Sleeping Muse — to Hungarian painter Margit Pogany — the model for the masterpiece Dra Pogany — and to American collector Agnes E. Meyer, who received one of the most interesting portraits in 20th-century sculpture, countless young women gravitated around Brâncuși and inspired him with their presence, posture, or attitude. Doina Lemny aims to evoke these connections and aspects, illustrating the lecture with mostly unpublished photographs.
The conference will be accompanied by a rich iconographic material presented in a PowerPoint format.
March 11 – Conference "Constantin Brâncuși: From Romanian Sources to Universality", by Doina Lemny at the Faculty of Sculpture, Tsinghua University.
Recently organized in Romania, in Timișoara (Romania), European Capital of Culture in 2023, the exhibition Brâncuși: Romanian Sources and Universal Perspectives marked an important moment in Romania's cultural history and the history of universal modern art. Curator Doina Lemny demonstrated the deep connections between Brâncuși’s heritage and the art of the early 20th century, to which the Romanian artist contributed by modernizing it. Art historian Doina Lemny aims to present the journey of the Romanian artist who essentialized forms in sculpture, thus revolutionizing this art form, which at the beginning of the 20th century was dominated by Auguste Rodin. "Simplicity is not a goal in art, but you reach simplicity without meaning to, as you approach the true meaning of things," Brâncuși said in one of his studio notes, explaining in an aphorism the path he embarked on after parting with Rodin, when he decided to communicate directly with the material by carving stone or wood without passing through modeling.
Doina Lemny is a renowned art historian and specialist in modern sculpture, internationally recognized for her outstanding contributions to the research on the works of Constantin Brâncuși. With a career dedicated to the in-depth exploration of sculptural modernism, Doina Lemny has published numerous academic studies and essential monographs on Brâncuși, highlighting his artistic innovations and influence on modern art. As a curator at the National Museum of Modern Art – Centre Pompidou in Paris, Lemny has organized large-scale exhibitions, contributing to the reinterpretation of Brâncuși's work through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates artistic, philosophical, and cultural perspectives. Through her work, Doina Lemny has played a crucial role in solidifying Constantin Brâncuși’s position in the canon of universal art and promoting Romanian cultural values on the global stage. Her research has been praised for its methodological rigor and analytical depth, setting new standards in the field of art history.
Constantin Brâncuși (February 19, 1876, Romania – March 16, 1957, France) is one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century and a key figure in the development of modernism in sculpture. Known for the radical simplification of forms and the use of diverse materials such as bronze, marble, stone, and wood, Brâncuși was a master of minimalist artistic expression, creating works like "Bird in Space," which combines the elegance of form with the depth of symbolism. His works reflect a blend of Romanian tradition and modern influences, making a significant impact on contemporary art and continuing to inspire today.
