How Constantin Brancusi’s Paris studio changed a Hong Kong designer toymaker’s life
- Michael Lau reveals how the Pompidou Centre’s Atelier Brancusi gave a vivid understanding of the Romanian sculptor and inspired his practice
Atelier Brancusi, part of Paris’ Pompidou Centre, is the perfectly preserved Parisian studio of Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957).
Bequeathed by the Romanian artist to the French state following his death, it was reconstructed by architect Renzo Piano in the early 1990s after the original was damaged by flooding.
Hong Kong artist Michael Lau Kin-man, best known for his designer toys, as well as for paintings and sculptures, tells Richard Lord how it changed his life.
My first trip to Paris was in 1996 or 1997, after I won a sponsorship as part of the Most Promising Artist Award from the Philippe Charriol Foundation (established by the eponymous luxury watchmaker and jeweller to promote Asian art).
I made use of the funding to go to Paris to see all the great museums and original artwork that was previously only available to me by reading.
At that time, I was at a stage when I was in between completing my studies (at the First Institute of Art and Design in Causeway Bay) and trying to get into the world of art.
