On July 30, Carole Feuerman’s 18-foot bronze sculpture, “The Golden Mean,” was installed at the base of Aspen Mountain.
Feuerman, a New York artist, also brought her sculpture “Christina” to the Upper Plaza. Both works will remain on display for four weeks.
“We’re honored to bring a work of this significance to the community,” Chief Executive Officer of Intersect Art + Design Tim von Gal said in a release. “After standing beneath the Eiffel Tower during one of the world’s greatest sporting events, ‘The Golden Mean’ now begins its next chapter at the base of Aspen Mountain — another globally recognized landmark where sports, culture and the natural world come together.”
The sculptures were presented by Intersect Art + Design and Hilton Contemporary as part of Intersect Art + Design. Nearly 100 people attended the July 30 unveiling, which began at Ajax Tavern.
“It was great. It went so well that I threw my speech away and winged it,” Feuerman told The Aspen Times.
A version of “The Golden Mean,” also known as “The Diver,” stood beneath the Eiffel Tower during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. There are three castings of the sculpture.
“One of the other variants was selected by the Olympic Committee to be right under the Eiffel Tower on the river during the Olympics, which was a tremendous honor,” Feuerman said.
Her work was selected from thousands of submissions. Another version is installed outside the Wrigley Building in Chicago.
“The Golden Mean” captures the moment before a diver leaps, symbolizing courage, discipline, focus and commitment shared by athletes, artists and anyone willing to leap into the unknown, according to a press release.
Feuerman said she created this version specifically for Aspen.
“The pieces were a really good choice. They represent stillness and strength and balance — all the things we want for our lives. They are not just sculptures or swimmers. They have a lot of meaning about people,” she said.
She said installing sculpture outdoors is about creating a relationship between the artwork and its surroundings.
“Sculpture changes with the light. It changes with the seasons. It changes with the people who encounter it. Here in Aspen, surrounded by mountains that have existed for millions of years, these sculptures become part of a much larger conversation — one about nature, humanity and time,” she said.
Balance has long been a central theme in her work.
“Although people recognize my work because of realism, realism has never been my destination. It is simply my language. My real interest has always been what lies beneath the surface. I’m interested in that quiet place where strength and vulnerability exist at the same time,” she said. “For me, the human body is much more than anatomy. It is a vessel that carries our memories, our resilience, our vulnerabilities and our dreams. Every scar, every gesture, every moment of balance tells a story.”
Getting to Aspen proved more challenging than the unveiling itself. Feuerman had visited the city only once before. She left New York at noon, but flight delays in Denver derailed her itinerary.
“I had to change to another flight to Aspen on another airline. I heard there was rain and lightning. I boarded a flight to Aspen, but 10 minutes before we were supposed to land, it diverted to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to refuel before returning to Denver,” she said.
A car picked her up in Denver at 1 a.m., and she arrived in Aspen at 4 a.m., just hours before the event.
In addition to the outdoor installations, Feuerman is exhibiting six works in a group show with Hilton Contemporary during Intersect Art + Design, running July 28 through Aug. 1.
On May 1, the International Sculpture Center honored Feuerman with its Lifetime Achievement Award.