An 80-square-metre mural, inspired by a traditional Romanian blouse ie with embroidery on the shoulder from Gorj, and an immersive exhibition dedicated to the intangible cultural heritage of Gorj will bring to Madrid and Arganda del Rey the cultural universe in which Constantin Brancusi was formed.

The cultural project 'Gorj. Constantin before Brancusi' is organised to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the sculptor from Gorj.

'Between October 14-17, 2026, the Nicolas Salmeron Cultural Centre in Madrid hosts the cultural project 'Gorj. Constantin before Brancusi', a meeting between heritage, contemporary art and cultural diplomacy that offers the Romanian and Spanish public a different perspective on the beginnings of the one considered the father of modern sculpture. In 2026, it will be 150 years since the birth of Constantin Brancusi and 145 years of diplomatic ties between Romania and Spain. The project was born at the intersection of the two anniversaries and wants to bring closer to the Romanian community in Madrid, but also to the Spanish community, the universe in which the great Constantin Brancusi grew up and was formed. A capsule of the world that formed Constantin,' reads a press release by the Docuart Association on Thursday.

The installation brings together Oltenian bed covers, wooden pillars from traditional houses, as well as a traditional blouse ie with embroidery from Gorj, with an area of over 20 square meters, sewn by hand, 'by ten hands', with motifs inspired by the imaginary of the area where Brancusi was born.

'We do not bring Brancusi's works to Madrid, but the world that preceded them: the matter, objects, gestures and signs among which the artist grew up. Gorj is not a key that explains his work, but it is the place where his sensitivity for matter, rhythm and form was formed,' Daniela Apostol, chair of the Docuart Association, is quoted as saying in the press release.

The objects are not presented as isolated ethnographic exhibits but are brought together in a contemporary visual and sensory construction. The wood, the canvas, the thread and the sewn sign compose a capsule of a world in which a child could already intuit 'form' and sculpture in the things around him, before knowing the meaning of these words. A sound background inspired by old local music, reinterpreted contemporarily, connects the objects and images in a common space.

''Gorj. Constantin before Brancusi' is not an exhibition of Constantin Brancu's works nor does it propose a simplifying link between the traditional object and modern sculpture. The project brings to the fore the material, affective and symbolic universe of Gorj, seen as the cultural matrix of its formation: a space in which matter, function, gesture and form were organically linked to life,' according to the curator of the exhibition, Andrei Fasie.

The mural painting - made in partnership with the 'Hispano-Romanian Association Nuestras Costumbres' - of about 80 square metres, done on an exterior wall of the Centro Integrado de La Poveda in Arganda del Rey, transposes to a monumental scale a painting signed by the Romanian artist Roxana Irimia.

The work transposes to a monumental scale the Gorj ie with embroidery on the shoulder from the installation at the Nicolas Salmeron Centre, integrating the motifs of the Romanian clothing heritage into the urban space of an important Romanian community in Spain. The mural is conceived as a permanent artistic intervention and as a sustainable tool for promoting the Romanian cultural identity in Spain. The work starts from the blouse with embroidery on the shoulder, an element of cultural identity of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, inscribed in 2022 on the Representative List of UNESCO Heritage, on a joint bid of the two countries.

'To the Romanian community in Spain, the project creates a context of reconnection with the identity of origin, beyond conventional nostalgia or simplified folkloric representations. Heritage is presented as a living resource, capable of generating new artistic forms and meanings. To the Spanish public, the project opens a way of access to Romanian culture through a universal artist and the cultural world from which he comes. Brancusi becomes not only a major name in art history, but also the entry point into a territory, a community and a lesser-known European heritage,' according to Valeriu Radulian, Romania-Spain cultural cooperation coordinator.

Thus, on Wednesday, October 14, at 11:00hrs, the opening of the immersive exhibition 'Gorj. Constantin before Brancusi' will take place at the Nicolas Salmeron Cultural Centre in Madrid, and on Friday, October 16, at 11:00hrs, the official closing event of the exhibition is scheduled, in the presence of representatives of the Romanian Embassy in Spain, the Romanian Cultural Institute, local officials, cultural centres, the media and the public at the Nicolas Salmeron Cultural Centre.

On Saturday, October 17, at 12:00hrs, the opening of the mural painting will take place, organised on the International Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Centro Integrado de La Poveda, free admission.

The project is organised by the Docuart Association, with the WIN for ART Foundation as co-organiser, and is carried out under the patronage of the Romanian Embassy in Spain. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Oana Popescu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)