Petrosino Square

The Daily Plant : Thursday, May 24, 2012

Carole Feuerman’s Survival Of Serena Makes A Splash In Petrosino Square

Parks & Recreation is pleased to announce the opening of Carole Feuerman’s exhibition Survival of Serena in Petrosino Square, the lively intersection of SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown. Located on the northern corner of this recently renovated park, the sculpture is on view through September 23, 2012.

Petrosino Square offers a respite from the heavily trafficked streets and sidewalks of New York City and Feuerman works to achieve a similar effect in her sculpture by capturing peaceful moments that are universally appealing. This tranquil swimmer resting in a dripping inner tube offers the public the opportunity to pause, even just for a moment, engaged and inspired by what stands before them. Survival of Serena seems like a moment frozen in time and exceeds the bounds of mere mimicry to become a larger than life symbol that invites us to consider our physicality and our own stories and commonalities.
Originally debuted in painted resin at the 2007 Venice Biennale, Survival of Serena was named in honor of Venice’s former name La Serenissima, which literally means 'the most/very serene’, a theme which transverses much of Feuerman's body of work. The sculpture went on to win first prize in the Beijing Biennale the following year. The artist has chosen Petrosino Square to unveil her new bronze Survival of Serena for the first time given its proximity to many cultural institutions and diverse neighborhoods.

Carole Feuerman was born in Hartford, Connecticut but has lived and worked in New York her entire life. Known for her hyperrealistic sculptures of swimmers and bathers, Feuerman's prolific career spans four decades and across a variety of media including bronze, resin and marble. Survival of Serena is the first of a series of new monumental painted bronze sculptures by the artist.

Mana Contemporary will have two trucks traversing the city highlighting the exhibition this summer.

Parks’ public art program has consistently fostered the creation and installation of temporary public art in parks throughout the five boroughs. Since 1967, collaborations with arts organizations and artists have produced hundreds of public art projects in New York City parks.