I recently visited Carol Feuerman at her Manhattan studio. Carol and her assistants were simultaneously preparing work for three upcoming exhibitions in New York, London and Germany. Her studio was abuzz with activity with Carol juggling speaking with me and guiding and instructing her assistants. 
     Carol discussed the different techniques that she has used to create what she refers to as hyperrealist sculptures. She uses techniques ranging from casting live models to 3D modeling and printing. She explained that casting from life is not the straightforward process that it appears.  Many hours are spent adapting and modifying the casts reworking the faces and the figures to make them express her intent. Carol often combines elements of older casts to create new figures. We also discussed the trails and tribulations of 3D modeling and printing. We agreed that the technology still has a way to go and she bemoaned the fact that even with 3D printing many hours must be spent filing, sanding and chasing the sculptures.
 
Carol’ s upcoming exhibitions include the following
C24 GALLERY NEW YORK, NY
Carole A. Feuerman: Hero and Leander | May 6 - June 25, 2016
HAUS BEDA
BITBURG, GERMANY
Group Show featuring Carole A. Feuerman
Die Welt als Bühne | The World as a Stage | April 24 -July 3, 2016
ARIA GALLERY
LONDON (UK)
Vision and Reality: Carole Feuerman & Sossio | May 11 - 25, 2016

Here is my reaction to seeing a few of Laetitia's photographs back in December of 2015. The images are from her current exhibition at Claire Oliver Gallery that runs through April 9th, 2016 Claire Oliver is located at 513 W 26th St. NYC

I first headed to Claire Oliver Gallery because of a video Claire had posted of gallery artist Laetitia Soulier creating a piece of her Fractal Architectures series. It is a timed lapse video showing Laetitia making an architectural model for her photographs. If you know my work you know that I am a pushover for anything architectural. The models are finely crafted dollhouse like structures with fractal-designed motifs. I was struck by the superb craftsmanship and attention to detail given to each of the parts in the model. Soulier then incorporates photographs of children into photographs of the architectural models. The children appear Gulliverian in her Lilliputian interior spaces. The photographs are as eye-catching as they are intriguing, layering a striking visuality with a sense of psychological tension and mystery.
One of Soulier’s photographs The Square Roots 2 hangs in the stairwell of the gallery. It shows an interior space of a two-storied dwelling that is covered in a green fractal pattern. The structure is opened towards the viewer like a dollhouse. The viewer can even observe the floor joists between the floor of the second story and the ceiling of the first floor.  A tree is growing in the second story space its roots lifting up the floorboards and penetrating down to the first floor.  A boy of Gulliverian scale is resting his head on the floor of the second story with his feet warmly nestled on the first floor. A red wheelbarrow rests at the roots of the tree. The boy looks peaceful and is not disturbed by his overgrown size and his cramped dwelling. The organized design of the rooms and the green fractal pattern give this photograph a sense of calm to an otherwise uncomfortable situation. Unlike Alice’s Adventures the boy seems at ease with his outsized proportions.
Soulier’s The Matryoshka Dolls is the most striking of the photographic group. In the photograph a red haired girl with light blue eyes looks tentatively out towards the viewer. Her hands are extended outward holding hands of figures that cannot be seen by the viewer. She is dressed in a futuristic red garment. She is in the foreground of the photograph set against a red background with two rows of arcaded doors. The colors are vivid and intense with a fractal pattern inspired by Russian Matryoshka Dolls that gives the photo its title. The girl has a blank look on her face but it is as if she wants to say something she can’t. She is separated from the viewer by a handrail that seems to trap her in a world that is beautiful but possibly repressive. The girl seems trapped in a conformity that she does not understand as if she is unaware of any other reality.

I recently attended the opening of Chaim Gross “On With The Show” it is museum quality exhibition of Chaim Gross’ work. It is currently on view at the Forum Gallery. The show features Chaim’s circus themed sculptures and drawings. The show is collaboration between the Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation and the Forum Gallery. The R&C Gross Foundation’s Executive Director Susan Fisher wrote the essay that accompanies the well-produced catalog. The show is a mixture of direct carved wood sculptures and cast bronze sculptures. A small number of drawings are also included. The show is beautifully presented. The wood sculptures glow under the dramatic lighting. The show was co-curated by The Forum Gallery, Dr. Susan Fisher, and Sasha Davis Curator of Collections.
 
The show runs through February 13th the Forum Gallery is located at 730 Fifth Avenue 2nd Fl. (between 56th & 57th Streets) New York, NY 10019