Objects of Desire | Conemporat sculptures by Beatriz Gerenstein

The Objects of Desire

As part of Personal Structures, presented by the European Cultural Centre during the 57th Venice Biennale (2017), Beatriz Gerenstein unveiled The Objects of Desire, a site-specific installation of sculptural handbags that transforms one of fashion's most recognizable icons into a meditation on beauty, identity, aspiration, and human desire.

Crafted in gold-coated bronze and enriched with gemstones, feathers, leather, coral, and other natural materials, each sculpture invites viewers to look beyond luxury and reflect on the invisible values we attach to the objects we long to possess.

'Fiorella" by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag with white jade handle and a cascading composition of gilded floral forms, from The Objects of Desire series presented at the 57th Venice Biennale.

Fiorella. 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with a withe jade handle

'Allegra' by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag with an elegant handle wrapped in vibrant green, brown and orange feathers, from The Objects of Desire series presented during the 57th Venice Biennale.

Allegra, 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with exotic feathers handle

'Dara' by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag with soft brown leather handles and an open geometric structure that contrasts luxury craftsmanship with minimalist form, from The Objects of Desire series.

Dara, 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with leather handle

'Donna' by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag with soft brown leather handles and an open geometric structure that contrasts luxury craftsmanship with minimalist form, from The Objects of Desire series.

Donna, 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with leather handle

'Celia' by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag with citrines and a agathes handle.

Celia, 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with citrines and agathe handle

'Bella' by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag featuring a handle composed of natural amethyst and golden butterflys embelleshing the handbag.

Bella, 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with amethyst handle

Ginger by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag featuring a vibrant red coral handle and a rounded organic silhouette that celebrates color, elegance, and natural beauty, from The Objects of Desire series.

Ginger, 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with coral handle

Pom-Pom by Beatriz Gerenstein, gold-coated bronze sculptural handbag with an open architectural framework, circular handles, and a suspended soft fur pom-pom, from The Objects of Desire series exhibited during the 57th Venice Biennale.

Pom-Pom, 24 K Gold-plated bronze, with a pink fur pom-pom

Luxury handbags have become some of the most recognizable symbols of contemporary culture. They speak of beauty, success, social status, individuality, and aspiration. Yet beneath their commercial identity lies a deeper human impulse—the universal desire to belong, to be admired, and to express who we are.

In The Objects of Desire, Beatriz Gerenstein transforms this familiar object into sculpture. Rather than reproducing luxury handbags as functional accessories, she reduces them to delicate skeletal structures cast in gold-coated bronze, leaving only their essential silhouette. By removing their material substance, logos, and conventional functionality, the artist shifts attention from the object itself to the emotional and symbolic value we assign to it.

Each sculpture develops its own distinct personality through carefully selected natural materials. Feathers suggest freedom and elegance. Coral evokes vitality and the sea. Amethyst recalls spirituality and inner wisdom. Agate, jade, leather, crystals, and fur introduce different associations of nature, craftsmanship, refinement, and cultural memory. These materials do not merely decorate the sculptures—they become metaphors for the many ways desire is shaped by personal experience and collective imagination.

Presented together during the 57th Venice Biennale, the installation invites viewers to reconsider the relationship between luxury and identity. Are these objects expressions of individuality, or reflections of society's expectations? Do we possess beautiful objects, or do they ultimately possess us?

Rather than criticizing fashion or consumer culture, Gerenstein approaches these questions with irony, curiosity, and poetic sensitivity. The handbags become portraits of human longing—objects suspended between fragility and opulence, simplicity and extravagance, reality and fantasy.

Ultimately, The Objects of Desire reminds us that the things we desire often reveal more about ourselves than about the objects themselves. Beneath every possession lies a deeper search—for beauty, recognition, belonging, love, and meaning