Bucharest Art Safari featuring almost 10 ml euro worth of exhibits to run May 11-20

Artworks worth an estimated of nearly 10 ml euro hailing from major private collections like the Pompidou Center in Paris, but also from Nicolae Ceausescu's collection, will be on display beginning this Friday until May 20 at Art Safari, Romania's top magnitude art event taking place in Bucharest's George Enescu Square. 

The most valuable exhibit is an artwork by avantgarde sculptor Constantin Brancusi, held in a private collection and worth an estimated seven-digit figure, said Art Safari Bucharest director Ioana Ciocan. 

"This is a very young Romanian collector, by whose courtesy the public can see three of Brancusi's works. (...) One, the worth of which is put at a seven-digit figure, will be on display starting May 11, opposite the works of acclaimed artist Adrian Ghenie. We wanted to make a connection between our past and present," Ciocan said. 

The Art Safari exhibition, now at its fifth edition, has four sections. 

The "Natural Cultural" Museum Pavilion, curated by Alina Serban, has Romanian art until the mid-90s on display, borrowed from over 20 Romanian museums and important private collections; the exhibits include footage shot by Brancusi himself, loaned by the Pompidou Museum in Paris. 

According to Alina Serban, the two films by Constantin Brancusi were digitized in 2011 by the Paris Pompidou Center and made available to an exhibition. "Brancusi himself photographed his work, it was him to decide in what form and what relationship the artworks in his workshop were supposed to have with the light; he came to Romania in 1937 - 1938 for the construction of the Targu Jiu sculptural ensemble and there is footage he recorded to study the landscape and the type of image structure starting from the subject of the Endless Column. There are many frames presenting the column, shot from various angles. Brancusi basically offers guidance as to how we should look at the artwork," explained the curator of the Museum Pavilion. 

The "Art on Stage" Central Pavilion is dedicated to performing arts and contemporary art installations and includes paintings, graphics and embroidery, cartoons and installations. The platform exhibition is directed by Herve Mikaeloff - consultant with Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Group and Louis Vuitton Fondation - and includes works by Romanian artists. This is where works by contemporary artists dedicated to the event will be showcased, such as Arantxa Etcheverria's Art Safari production, the works of Vlad Nanca, Radu Cioca and Mircea Cantor; with support from Dior House, the latter crafted the Anthroposynaptic Dior/Bihor item - a folk sheepskin vest from the Bihor region sewn to a Dior vest of the 2017 autumn - winter collection and which sparked intense debate on what is authentically Romanian and whether Romanian authentic items are being used with or without copyright by the leading international fashion houses," said Ioana Ciocan. 

Art Safari also includes the exhibitions of "50 Impressionist Painters from the BCR Art Collection" and "Ceausescu. Another Story". 

The event also features a program for children aged 3 to 12, offering creative workshops and guided tours supported by Lauder-Reut and British Council students along an exhibition route tailored especially for the kids. Access for children up to 12 years old is free. 

The author of the design of the exhibition pavilion is architect Attila Kim, Romania's commissioner to the Venice Biennale since 2106. 

Tickets can be purchased from www.artsafari.ro or directly from the event box offices. 

Art Safari is open to the public daily until May 20, from 12:00 to 21:00 hrs and on Saturdays opening hours are until midnight.