Constantin Brancusi Exhibition Center

A single-storey exhibition pavilion inserted in front of a standard Soviet panel housing block on one of Chișinău's central streets. The building presents a rhythmic facade of recessed bays and solid piers, each pier carrying a figural bas-relief sculpture by Natalya Vlasova. The contrast with the deteriorating render and water staining behind suggests a building that received its programme seriously but not its maintenance. Founded in 1989 as the stronghold of the Union of Plastic Artists, the centre is named for Constantin Brâncuși. This speakers to the rise of nationalism during Gorbachev’s glasnost, as the Romanian-born modernist sculptor was barely acknowledged in Soviet cultural life. The Centre comprises two exhibition halls and a gallery-salon, and now hosts paintings, sculpture, graphics, decorative art, digital art, and installations by members of the Plastic Artists' Union.