Carole's Picks: Shan Shan Sheng
by Kelsey Zalimeni
This month’s feature in the Carole’s Picks series is Chinese artist Shan Shan Sheng. Coming to America in 1982, Sheng attended Mount Holyoke College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts Degree, and continued to Harvard University as an artist-in-residence for two years. While she produces a range of works from Venetian glass to painting, Sheng is most well known for her public installations in major cities across the globe.
Sheng's sweeping installations are made of a colorful, specially cast glass; the arrangement of its parts evokes and imaginative take on the ethereal space above and within our reach. Witnessing a large-scale Sheng in person awakens a viewer to a higher awareness of their own body, in relation to the artwork itself and to the room which they both occupy. Nature and its many wonders are a grand inspiration for the artist, as reflected in the organic composition of her works.
Shan Shan Sheng’s paintings are a near perfect embodiment of her sculptural works, giving off the same mystical, weightless feel through the language of color and movement. Like her public pieces, Sheng’s paintings are grand in scale and of a similar palette to her cold-cast glass panes.
More Than Mere Fabrication
by Kelsey Zalimeni
Carole Feuerman’s Kendall is cast in the likeness of Mana Contemporary’s marketing director, Kendall Tichner. For the sculpture, Kendall donned a swimsuit by Chromat, a designer brand whose mantra is ‘Structural Experiments for the Human Body.’
The contemporary feel of the work (completed this year) is bolstered by Kendall’s confident yet casual pose and the fashion-forward swimsuit. A piece like this exhibits the artist’s tap on the vein of current trends in fashion and art.
A common practice for greats such as Warhol and Rauschenberg was to involve and integrate figures they met through the art scene, into their works. This took shape in many forms; for example, critic Henry Geldzahler appearing in a Warhol film or Rauschenberg collaborating with dance legend Merce Cunningham in a performance. The spirit of this union between the artist and art enthusiast is paralleled in Kendall- an act of homage on Carole’s part, and a showing of loyalty from the model’s end.
The Double Diver
Carole has very recently completed one of her most dynamic works to date, the Double Diver. This incredible bronze features two divers connecting to form what eighteenth-century art theorist William Hogarth called 'the line of beauty': that curving serpentine silhouette found in all things naturally beautiful.
The gestural application of bronze on the surface reflects the effortless flow of the entire piece; the smallest details are conveyed perfectly in the faces, hands, and feet.
The unveiling of Carole's Double Diver is set for April in Sunnyvale, California. Be sure to see it in person, should you have the chance.
SUBMIT YOUR ART
ATTENTION ARTISTS!
We are looking for 30-40 pieces of art to be rented for 6-12 months. The due date to submit is Sunday, March 30th!
Themes can include healing and healthcare. We will also consider abstract or unique landscapes. We are looking for large-scale pieces to fill large walls in a corporate space.
Please send all submissions to deb19@me.com
A Different Side
Carole Feuerman is best known for her hyper-real sculptures, but her versatility extends into the 2D realm as well. These featured prints are in dialogue with a Warholian approach to artmaking- repetition of iconic imagery with variation in color placement.
This group of Serena prints hang together in this grid on the walls of Carole's studio
Yet another group of prints call upon Warhol's diamond-dusted series; these bathers exude a dazzling aura, enchanting viewers with their sparkle from all angles. Colors include this pink print, as well as blue, gold and silver.
A different angle of the the bather, in the same diamond-dusted fashion as the other prints.
Carole's prints are a great accompaniment to her sculptural pieces; the reproduction of her swimmers through print solidifies their likeness as an iconic symbol within her oeuvre.
Feuerman in Public: Survival of Serena
by Kelsey Zalimeni
You may be familiar with Petrosino Square, a small park nestled at the crossroads of several dynamic destinations- Bowery and Little Italy to the east, Chinatown to the south, and SoHo to the west and north. Strolling around this park two summers ago, you would have noticed the strikingly beautiful swimmer by Carole Feuerman, 'Survival of Serena.' Carole's public exhibition with the park caused quite a splash, drawing large crowds and attention from the press.
Serena rests peacefully on her inner tube, realistic drops of water trickling down her skin as she basks in the sun. Merely standing in her presence evokes a hushed reverence, as though the audience were afraid to wake her.
This public installation, while a large success, only lasted four months; however, this certainly won't be the last swimmer to hit the streets of a major metropolitan area. Be on the lookout for more public exhibitions of Carole's work in the near future.
Carole's Picks: Janet Echelman
by Kelsey Zalimeni
This post marks the first edition of the 'Carole's Picks' series, a feature which showcases Carole Feuerman's favorite fellow artists and their work. A new artist will be added to the list each month; the growing roster grants a peek into Carole's personal artistic taste, while introducing readers to great artists from all over the world.
Carole's Pick for this month is Janet Echelman, an American sculptor who creates suspended pieces which reshape urban environments and react to water, sunlight, and wind. Echelman's works are typically exhibited in public metropolitan locations. Her works have been shown in big cities such as Phoenix, Vancouver, NYC, San Francisco, and Porto, Portugal.
No matter where an Echelman piece is installed, it seems to have the same effect on its surrounding area- a mysteriously potent and joyful energy pours out from every edge of the work. Passersby stop to marvel at the ethereal wonder before them, taking pictures to capture those radiant colors floating up above. However beautiful they might be, the purpose of these sculptures is not merely to decorate a public area; Echelman seeks to emphasize the wonders of nature by constructing her pieces to react to the elements.
You can learn more about Janet Echelman's work by visiting her website.
Carole's Latest Diver
by Kelsey Zalimeni
Carole Feuerman very recently completed her latest addition to The Diver series- this powerful life-size bronze stands at 6'5", a gleaming testament to the glory and sheer athleticism of the human body.
The model for The Diver is Richard Nuzzolese, whose father Mike Nuzzolese first modeled for Carole earlier in her career.
Richard underwent Carole's intensive casting process, getting covered from head to toe in a rubber mixture which captured every aspect of his body, down to the pores on his face. The process pushed the crew to the physical limit, for Richard had to sustain the diver's pose for hours while those applying the rubber had to capture his form perfectly.
Clearly this tedious process yields massive rewards; the bronze Diver stands proudly as a wonderful addition to Carole's oeuvre.
