Curator, Anne Umland: Brancusi remains at 8 Impasse Ronsin until 1927, when there is a flood, and he has to move out. He moves to a new number within the same complex—number 11—and he gradually begins to expand his space.
Curatorial Assistant, Samantha Small: They both had soaring ceilings and a lot of natural light. The forms that he made didn’t change from studio to studio. But being able to increase the footprint really allowed him a flexibility to experiment and to play.
Anne Umland: Over time, it really does become, in Brancusi’s mind, akin to a work of art in itself—into this all-encompassing environment. It became such a mythic site, and sort of this sacred space, but also an imperfect structure in need of constant care and maintenance.
Samantha Small: This wall of ephemera represents Brancusi’s life in his studios. We have invoices from a pest control company to keep the building free of rats; letters from admirers of Brancusi’s who wanted to come and view his work; and there’s also a series of documents that illuminate the problems he encountered as an immigrant artist in Paris throughout two world wars. So these documents reveal the joy and the creative process, but also that his residence was not without difficulty.