Breasts in all Their Forms take Centre Stage in Palazzo Franchetti, Venice

The third room also showcases how breasts have been employed as a commercial device in marketing and advertising, with sex appeal emerging as a common tactic to promote products. This room delves into how fashion photographers, including Oliviero Toscani, have challenged and subverted the conventional role of advertising, intentionally making the viewer feel uncomfortable or confused. Hsu Che-yu's work blurs the boundary between reality and the digital realm, with a subtle reference to the pervasive nature of pornography. 

The fourth room features artists who fragment, abstract, and deconstruct breasts in their art, establishing connections with consumer culture, materialism, and contemporary society. Two distinctive themes become evident in this space. Playfulness emerges as a distinct theme, challenging the male gaze and reclaiming agency. By infusing a sense of humour, artists challenge rigid notions surrounding the female form, disrupting conventional ideals, which leads to a broader conversation about body positivity and self-acceptance. Artists including Chloe Wise, Sarah Lucas, Louise Bourgeois and Aurora Pellizzi contribute to a conversation about identity, consumer culture, and the evolving representation of breasts in art. 

A film by Laure Prouvost entitled Four For See Beauties will be shown in the fifth room. Shot in 2022, the fifteen minute-film depicts three women and the artist’s newborn child alongside an array of sea creatures recalling the stages of human life transformation.

Main Image :Charlotte Colbert, Mastectomy Mameria, Plaster, 2019 © the artist and Popcorn Group LTD