Venice Biennale 2015: Feuerman's Swimmers sponsored by Global Arts Foundation on view through November / by Carole Feuerman

Leda and the Swan, 2014. Oil on Resin with 24K Gold Leaf Swarovski Crystal. 42 x 80 x 90 inches.

Leda and the Swan, 2014. Oil on Resin with 24K Gold Leaf Swarovski Crystal. 42 x 80 x 90 inches.

The City of Venice can breathe a sigh of relief. The whirlwind opening ceremonies of the 2015 Venice Biennale have past. Venice has survived the tidal wave of art freaks, geeks, sleeks, and elites.

However, while the Biennale’s most trafficked period is over, its exhibitions will run through November and there is plenty of art yet to explore for visitors.

DurgaMa, 2014. Painted Bronze. 101 x 90 x 91 inches.

DurgaMa, 2014. Painted Bronze. 101 x 90 x 91 inches.

Carole Feuerman’s monumental works DurgaMa and Leda and the Swan are on view in front of Palazzo Mora and were sponsored by the Global Arts Foundation. The response to her work this summer was a blend of romanticized ecstasy and serious-minded zeal.

People’s overwhelming infatuation with Leda and the Swan resulted in a spontaneous romance between the crowd and the sculpture.

 

Photo courtesy of Instagram user: Serenaaquaro.

Photo courtesy of Instagram user: Serenaaquaro.

 

In a highly politicized and darker themed Biennale, Feuerman’s sculptures inspired genuine and fruitful emotions. Both pieces projected serenity and strove to perpetuate an elevated, nourishing atmosphere.

The vanished fanfare of gala parties and PR forced feedings allows time to reflect and digest.

 

Photo courtesy of Instagram user: bettio.

Photo courtesy of Instagram user: bettio.

 This year’s curator, Okwui Enwezor, proclaimed that it was “the right of every artist to strike such a stance of radical refusal,” to “the noise, pollution, dust, and decay” of the world. Feuerman’s work and the response it received, speaks to her successful emphasis on humanity’s finer points.

“Through my sculptures, I explore classicism and beauty, which are subjects that have been taboo in contemporary art. There is a conditioned, yet inaccurate, belief that "good" radical art has to reject something that is attractive and pleasing to the eye.”