Publication
The Brancusi Effect
An Archival Impulse

Publication on occasion of the exhibition The Brancusi Effect at Kunsthalle Wien (June 12 - September 21, 2014) in cooperation with Dan Gunn, Berlin. The publication is edited by Nicolas Schafhausen and Vanessa Joan Müller. With texts by Paola Mola and Alessio delli Castelli. Published by Sternberg Press.

The Brancusi Effect begins with the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi. Cited as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Brancusi’s considerations of the pedestal launched a reorientation of the relationship between object, viewer, and space, influencing Minimalism and the aesthetic of the installation as a whole. Brancusi's work, its modular structure and adaptability, can be seen as a point of departure; the autonomy of artworks abates in favor of a reflection on their historical and institutional positioning.

Taking this influence into account, the exhibition and publication collect Brancusi’s original photographic documentation. The installation reflects the recent currency of the sculptural within contemporary art while referencing Brancusi's sensibility.