A major exhibition devoted to Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brâncuși begins member previews at New York’s Museum of Modern Art on 22 October, ahead of its public opening on 25 October.

Running until 27 February 2027, Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio examines the artist’s work through the environment in which he created and displayed it. The exhibition occupies MoMA’s sixth floor and brings together sculpture with photographs, films, furniture, tools and archival material.

Its central subject is Brâncuși’s studio on impasse Ronsin in Paris. From 1916 until his death in 1957, the space served as a home, workplace, meeting place and setting for encounters with his sculptures. The exhibition treats that environment as part of his artistic achievement. press.moma.org

The presentation includes rarely lent material from the Atelier Brancusi, preserved within the Centre Pompidou’s collection. Brâncuși bequeathed the studio’s contents to France in 1957, seeking to retain the unity of the environment he had assembled.

The Paris museum and atelier are currently closed for renovations. The New York exhibition brings selected works into dialogue with MoMA’s own Brâncuși collection and other local loans, allowing visitors to examine relationships between sculptures and the objects surrounding them. MoMA

Romania Insider’s coverage on 22 October highlighted the Romanian Cultural Institute’s interpretation of the exhibition as an opportunity to reconsider both Brâncuși’s origins and his place in international modernism.

That perspective reflects the geographical breadth of his legacy. His Romanian background, working life in France and reception in the United States all form part of the story presented to visitors. The exhibition provides a setting in which those connections can be explored through objects rather than national labels alone. romania-insider.com

The curatorial approach also broadens what audiences are invited to look at. Pedestals, carved furniture and working materials can reveal how the artist organised space and how the appearance of a sculpture changed in relation to its surroundings.

The exhibition is organised by guest curator Anne Umland and MoMA curator Mia Matthias, with Samantha Small. Centre Pompidou provides exceptional support, while the Romanian Cultural Institute is among the exhibition’s funders. press.moma.org

For international audiences, the forthcoming opening offers an encounter with a Romanian-born artist through the practical and imaginative world of his studio. The public programme begins on 25 October; the previews starting today are reserved for museum members.