silver-plated bronze, Mako shark with amalgam of skulls and bones on the belly. Paumelle Foundry
Thierry Benenati's Requin Cimetière is a powerful work that combines brute force and the fragility of existence in a representation that is as striking as it is disturbing. This Mako shark, with its slender and fearsome silhouette, becomes here a bearer of death, its belly burst into a macabre pile of skulls and bones.
The contrast between the shark's smooth, silvery surface and the rough texture of the human remains embedded in its body is striking. The polished, almost mirror-like metal reflects the predator's ruthless purity, while the skulls seem to emerge from the bowels of the ocean like relics from an underwater graveyard, recalling the natural and inevitable violence of the food chain.
Mounted on a sleek base, this sculpture seems to hover above the surface, frozen in an icy eternity. With Requin Cimetière , Benenati does not simply depict a shark; he creates an allegory of life and death, a work that invites us to reflect on the delicate balance between predator and prey, between beauty and horror.
Offered at €48,000, this unique piece in silver-plated bronze, cast at the Fonderie Paumelle, is a spectacular addition to any collection that seeks to push the boundaries of contemporary art while confronting the viewer with their own fears and fascinations.
