It’s odd to say Brancusi “exploded” onto the art scene in 1913. He could barely sell a work and, for decades, depended on a sole American patron. Such market indifference reflects “the extent to which Brancusi was operating wholly outside the temper of his time, including [radical] Paris.” Given his stature now, this is surely one of the more remarkable transformations in all of art history.
With some irony a critic quips that “after five decades, Corse is suddenly hard to miss”. What’s also hard to miss is that over that long low-profile period Corse stayed tightly focused on one thing – “to put the light in the painting … When [viewers are] looking at the paintings, it’s an outer light, but when you relate to it, it becomes an inner light to feel” More images are here.
The former Yugoslavia ended badly. Yet, after its expulsion from the Soviet bloc, it enjoyed an optimistic outlook. The architecture was remarkable, a far cry from the drab constructions elsewhere in Eastern Europe. There was “an abundant presence of design culture… in a socialist country. It was an aspect we tended not to see.” More images are here.