Diamond = Mirror x K 1989

Curator: Looking at this, I immediately think of alchemy, a laboratory where transformations occur. Editor: We're looking at "Diamond = Mirror x K" crafted by Douglas Abdell in 1989, a sculpture constructed with metal. Curator: Metal, of course. It feels inevitable, doesn't it? Cold, hard... potentially quite sharp, too. Did metal working play into modernism? Editor: Absolutely. The use of industrial materials, processes of fabrication, and often a deconstruction of traditional sculptural forms were very popular. Artists pushed boundaries exploring the material capabilities of mass-produced metals and questioning the very definition of "art." I see that reflected here. Abdell employs industrial material not to mimic life, but to conjure a space for reflection. Curator: It’s undeniably striking. The pyramid base, the spiraling column, and then that diamond, almost like a window. It’s quite an enigmatic visual language. But what do you read from it? What stories does it tell you? Editor: Stories are embedded within it; layers of production history are literally melded into it. Metalworking requires specialized tools and a division of labor – someone designed this piece, someone else cut the metal, others assembled the final artwork. Curator: Thinking of labour brings the energy of the artwork to my mind; the fire, hammering, the precise manipulations required…it's there in its skeletal, gleaming form, even three decades later. There’s a very active quality that belies its static state. Editor: Precisely. It challenges the preciousness associated with traditional sculptures and connects it with production and wider economics. And if “Diamond = Mirror x K” suggests ideas of value, perhaps that extends to value as a process too? Curator: A mirrored window might reflect labour itself. Its transformation captured and crystallized... intriguing. The artwork certainly embodies transformation at different levels of visual experience! Editor: Yes, in its construction as much as its appearance. Abdell offers a study of not just modern materials but the human processes they go through. Curator: A perfect synthesis of art, work, and ideas!