Diamonds Are Forever

Diamond dust, black acrylic paint, and geometric forms (circle, triangle, rectangle, square) come together in Knowledge Bennett’s five-piece series, a large-scale take on contemplation and the reexamination of one’s inner world. A sense of polarity envelops each work, with upright and downright triangles revealing the duality of human nature: reactive and controlled, with the points of the triangles reminiscent of the Trinity—of man, woman, and child—in the most spiritual sense. The works are painted in a striking, multilayered black, covered in a coat of the artist’s hand poured diamond dust: a star-like smattering reminiscent of moving up and down in life, in space, as a human being on earth. While the viewer is limited by the length and width of each piece, the overarching depth creates a viewer kinetic experience not unlike walking into the cosmos, or—as critics note—taking in Vieques, Puerto Rico’s bioluminescent Mosquito Bay. One thing is certain throughout: The works that comprise Diamonds Are Forever are glowing and immersive, steeped in black yet perfectly-lit, captivating the public while inviting self-examination. Standing in front of each piece is meant to be transformative; hung and lit in the gallery space, the works exude a sense of quiet, enabling viewers to spend time with nothing but their thoughts, lost in contemplation. The sense of walking into rather than in front of each piece is crucial, for the artist set out to enable viewers to walk into their truest selves: flipping themselves inside out, examining their insides, exploring portraits of the mind by reinventing the concepts of simplicity and depth.