Ivy cascades in the rust-coloured hues of autumn over the building of the Arcus Cultural Centre in Sfantu Gheorghe, which in a few days will host the exhibition 'Brancusi and the Great Artists of His Era.'

The works have already arrived in Sfantu Gheorghe, and as they are unpacked, the exhibition hall is gradually filling with shapes and colours, while the names of some of the celebrated artists of the 20th century are beginning to emerge from behind the packaging.

The exhibition, which will open on Saturday, will feature 43 works, including limited-edition lithographs and engravings, bearing the signatures of Constantin Brancusi, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Auguste Rodin, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Giorgio De Chirico, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch, Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich and many others.

The works come from the art collection of Bucharest lawyer George Serban, and the exhibition is being organised as part of the 'Brancusi Year,' marking 150 years since the birth of the great artist.

'My art collection comprises approximately 5,000 pieces, including Romanian art, painting, graphic art, sculpture, European art and Japanese prints. Most of the works were acquired by me at international auctions - I am referring to the Japanese and European art - while the Romanian works were acquired from artists or auction houses in Bucharest. More than 1,000 of the 5,000 works have been taken from my collection and displayed in more than 100 exhibitions that I have organised over the years at museums in Romania, as well as in Chisinau, Budapest and Vienna,' George Serban told AGERPRES.

In collaboration with Associate Professor Habil. Razvan-Constantin 'ZuZu' Caratanase, he developed a three-year project dedicated to the memory of Constantin Brancusi, under which several exhibitions have been organised across the country, including in Targu Jiu and Sinaia.

'Our story with Brancusi is a very beautiful one, because it stems from an appreciation, from a love that I have always had, and especially since the Brancusi Museum opened in Paris. I went there and had this almost painful feeling, because we, Romanians, haven't managed to bring the works of this genius to Romania. I saw them on display there and, honestly, I felt a sense of duty. You cannot do anything about it now, of course; things are settled, the French state owns them. What we can do in this respect is honour the great sculptor as best we can,' Serban added.

Visitors to the 'Brancusi and the Great Artists of His Era' exhibition attending the opening will have a chance to win a Salvador Dalí lithograph donated by collector George Serban, as part of a raffle organised for the occasion.

'In Sfantu Gheorghe, I donated a Dalí lithograph, which will be displayed and offered as the prize in the raffle organised by the Arcus Cultural Centre. I do this at almost all my exhibitions (...) And I have always been happy to see people go home with a work of art. The Japanese prints are, of course, originals, as are the Romanian artworks that I have also donated, while the European graphic works are pieces bearing the artist's signature in the plate (...) What certainly made me very happy was seeing a 16-year-old student in Targu Jiu win an original Japanese print, and I also gave a Miró lithograph there (...) The exhibition itself also has an educational dimension. We want to spark young people's interest so that when they travel around the country or abroad, to Vienna or Paris, for instance, they do not pass up the museums. That is what we are trying to do. It has been one of our goals for years,' George Serban added.

Arcus Cultural Centre Director Kopacz Attila told AGERPRES that the exhibition, whose opening will take place on Saturday, October 10, at 5:00 p.m., represents an 'absolute cultural premiere' for the community of Sfantu Gheorghe.

'I would say it is a very representative selection for Brancusi's era. I don't know if anyone from that period is missing (...) The most important thing is that I don't think such a collection has ever been shown in Sfantu Gheorghe. I recommend it to art lovers, but especially to pupils and children - come and see it. It is one thing to see the works on a computer monitor or a phone, and quite another to stand half a metre or a metre away from such works. For a child, it would be a first encounter with this kind of art or with such great artists (...) As for the raffle, each ticket purchased will have a serial number, and those who buy tickets will write their name and telephone number on the back. The draw will take place at the end of the opening, and the lucky winner will go home with a Dalí lithograph,' Kopacz Attila said. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Malina Negrea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)