Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși’s “Gate of the Kiss” recreated in Bucharest

The famous “Gate of the Kiss” made by Constantin Brâncuși was recreated in Bucharest as part of the “You are Brâncuși!” project to mark 150 years since the sculptor's birth. The project is a collaboration between the Constantin Brâncuși Research, Documentation and Promotion Center in Târgu Jiu and auction house Artmark, which hosts the recreated gate at the Cesianu-Racoviță Palace.

The gate will remain in Bucharest from February 13 to March 9. It is meant “not only an object to look at or see oneself reflected in, but a space to experience - a city threshold where passersby see themselves in Brâncuși’s symbol of love, unity, and continuity,” according to the press release.

As such, it becomes a threshold between stages of life and “fulfills in the life of the Romanian people the role of a magical creation that watches over all the major acts of an individual’s life… births, weddings, deaths,” according to another famed Romanian artist, the writer Mircea Eliade.

Public access to the “You are Brâncuși!” gate is free, and passersby are invited to take photos and immortalize this passage.

An important “studio sketch” by Brâncuși can also be found at the Cesianu-Racoviță Palace. The sketch will be included in the Postwar and Contemporary Art Auction scheduled for February 19, the National Constantin Brâncuși Day, at Casa A10 by Artmark. The drawing has a starting price of EUR 8,000 and comes from the collection of Ion Alexandrescu, the apprentice who helped the artist create the monumental trilogy called “The Heroes’ Way” in Târgu Jiu.

“We undertook this project because the Gate of the Kiss is one of the essential signs of the Brâncuși universe, and its symbol is, moreover, also present in our visual identity. And because Brâncuși watches over all of us!” said Cornel Mihalache, director of the Constantin Brâncuși Research, Documentation and Promotion Center.

(Photo source: press release)