Urs Fischer, Untitled, 2011, wax, pigments, wicks, steel.  On view in the 2011 Venice Biennale

Rarely does a work of art haunt my dreams and invade my consciousness, forcing me to truly meditate on the phrase ars longa, vita brevis.  Consider Urs Fischer’s sculptures from the 2011 Venice Biennale.  I think the feeling is called “resonance.”  They’re hard to forget once you’ve seen them.  Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine is dramatically reproduced as a giant wax sculpture that melts before your eyes, as well as those of a wax spectator (a wax chair also melts nearby).

Urs Fischer, Untitled, 2011, wax, pigments, wicks, steel.  On view in the 2011 Venice Biennale [Photo by Stefan Altenburger]