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.