DIAMOND (RED) by Jeff Koons

Limited Edition of 599 (sold out).

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Diamond (Red) is a limited edition by Jeff Koons that transforms the monumental Celebration sculpture into Limoges porcelain fabricated within the workshops of Bernardaud. Diamond is part of Koons’ iconic Celebration series, conceived in 1994, that consists of sixteen paintings and twenty large-scale sculptures. The original 7-foot long Diamond (1994-2005) was created in five unique colors (green, pink, blue, yellow, and red) in mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating.

The Celebration series was inspired by significant moments within the calendar year such as the celebration of an anniversary as captured in Diamond. There is a romantic aspect to the work but, for the artist, there is also a biological narrative. In Koons’ own words: “It’s not about bling; but it’s about the moment of creation. The posts on the sides of the diamond represent male energy, and the diamond is an egg. One symbol of male energy, sperm, already entered the egg and all the facets of life are unfolding. If you go back to the furthest point here at the back, that is as far back as we could go in human history. That represents the truest narrative we have of human history, which are our genes and our DNA. I wanted to start to make works that dealt with more of an inward connectivity. The way our genes and DNA are interconnected, like a double helix, our cultural lives are interconnected.”

The reflective surface of Diamond is a reoccurring element within Koons’ œuvre that spans over four decades beginning with the readymade mirrors in the Inflatable series from the late 1970s. Through highly reflective surfaces, Koons’ artworks interact with their environment but also the viewer continuing to change and evolve in each unique setting.

For over 150 years, Bernardaud has worked with the most skilled artisans at their workshop in Limoges and has created new technologies to achieve the porcelain works made in collaboration with Jeff Koons. No detail was compromised in rendering the diamond in porcelain. Bernardaud was challenged with the reflective surface, finessing the glaze techniques and refining the surface to create as smooth a surface as possible made for a porcelain finish. Koons’ archetypal Diamond (Red) is complex and profound.

Copyright: Jeff Koons