LUXURY

其作品並為卡內基藝術博物館（Carnegie Museum）、高等藝術博物館（High Museum of Art）、 赫希洪博物館（Hirshhorn Museum）、魯貝爾美術館 （Rubell Collection）、波特蘭美術館（Portland Museum of Art）、聖安東尼奧美術館（San Antonio Museum of Art）等公共機構所收藏。2017 年伯恩哈特於聖路易當代 美術館（Contemporary Art Museum, St Louis）完成公共 藝術項目，長達 18 公尺的超級壁畫「XXL 超扁平鬆餅」 （XXL Superflat Pancake）。而近兩年受疫情影響，回 到密蘇里州的伯恩哈特，於歐美各地推出個人和策展型 聯合展覽，社群活動與展覽依然熱絡。

In her iconic look consisting of straight blonde hair with big earrings, thick framed glasses, lilac lipstick and golden green eyeshadows, the American artist Katherine Bernhardt described her own unique style as "tropically futuristic hippie." She intends to mix and match colors on canvas in the brightest and craziest combinations. Her portrayal of Pink Panther, Garfield, and Mickey Mouse as slightly deformed, adorable, strange, and candid characters have captivated the fashion and art industries. The American art critic Jerry Saltz has nicknamed Bernhardt the "female bad-boy" of contemporary art, whose creative concepts and styles are truly genuine and boundless.

Bernhardt was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1975. After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1998, she obtained a master's degree in arts from the School of Visual Arts, New York in 2000 before launching her art career from a Brooklyn studio. The New Yorker once described Bernhardt's style as "A gusty batch of neo-primitivism paintings inspired by AfroCaribbean, African-American, and African culture." Bernhardt was initially notable in the art community for her portraits of exaggerated fashion models. Subsequently, she introduced the elements of African textiles and Dutch wax-prints into the creation, increasingly vivid and bold colors. She transitioned to "pattern paintings" in 2014, presenting pop culture graphics in sharply contrasting colors to the general public. Finally, 2021 was the year of harvest for Bernhardt － not only did she start an official collaboration with David Zwirner and jointly launch an autumn winter series with Heaven By Marc Jacobs, her original paintings also continued to rise in market popularity. In the global market, auction prices reached new record breaking highs with a single painting surpassing $200,000 USD.

▲▼ 藝術家海外展覽場景 Exhibition view of Katherine Bernhardt at Galerie Xavier Hufkens, Brussels. Installation view of Katherine Bernhardt Gold at Art Omi in Ghent, New York.

KATHERINE

Bernhardt's creative and personal charisma have injected new energy into American contemporary art. Featuring flowing, vibrant paints, her flexible pen strokes and bold candid themes, such as toilet paper, Scotch Tape, running shoes, watermelons, aliens, toucans, cigarettes, and coronavirus are truly impressive. The sense of delight in her work is a common language in this era of globalization. Bernhardt's artistic aesthetics is unrestrained, chaotic, yet glamorous like a bowl of lavish fruit salad. Her Brooklyn apartment is filled with the works of her artist friends, while her Missouri studio has also hosted craft fairs for handwoven products. Bernhardt holds a passionate, open attitude towards both art and life. She has traveled across Morocco, Vienna, Greece, Puerto Rico, as well as created ceramics in Mexico before returning to St. Louis to upgrade exhibition spaces and paint large murals. "I'm satisfied and yet never satisfied," she says. "I don't like to waste time. Life is short, so I always try to do as much as possible."

Bernhardt's works are in the possession of public organizations, such as the Carnegie Museum, High Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Rubell Collection, Portland Museum of Art, and San Antonio Museum of Art. In 2017, she completed a 18-meter long super mural titled XXL Superflat Pancake for a public art project at the Contemporary Art Museum, St Louis. While Bernhardt has returned to Missouri under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in these two years, she has launched solo and joint exhibitions across Europe and America, remaining highly active on social media.

◀ 藝術家作品圖片（由上而下） All right reserved © Katherine Bernhardt. Katherine Bernhardt, Queres tostones, 2020, acrylic & aerosol on canvas, 182.8 x 198.1 cm; Katherine Bernhardt, Untitled, 2019, acrylic and watercolor on paper, 45.7 x 61 cm; Katherine Bernhardt, Plantains, Bananas & Toilet Paper, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 243.8 x 304.8 cm

BERNHARDT

DISCOVER THE HISTORICAL SPIRIT SHINING THROUGH THE GEMSTONES

Text / 劉允華 Photo / Ravenel International Art Group

在寶石的璀璨中，看見歷史的靈魂

在十七世紀，歐洲的探險家與投資者在此地立足，並開發印度知名 的可拉 (Kollur) 礦場前，戈爾康達 (Golconda) 地區已經是世界最重要 的鑽石生產地與交易中心。根據文獻記載，直到當時，此地區的數十個 礦場是全球兩千年來絕大多數的鑽石來源，最早的紀錄甚至可追溯至西 元前 4 世紀。

在引入勞力密集的工業開採後，Kollur 礦場開啟了鑽石大規模生 產的先河。當時 Kollur 地區的人口數約有十萬，而礦場在全盛時期的 僱員就達三萬至六萬人之譜。Kollur 礦場，乃至於 Golconda 全區的 榮景一直持續到十九世紀中期，將近兩個世紀，直到礦脈幾乎耗竭為 止，估計在生產高峰期間，Golconda 礦區的產量達到一千兩百萬克 拉，其生產的鑽石更始終以高品質著稱。世界最著名的藍鑽之一 Hope Diamond，即是產自 Kollur。今天，由於其特殊的化學結構與潔淨的品 質，Golconda 之名，依舊是市場上具有相當重量的象徵。

近代最著名的礦區，則非澳洲阿蓋爾 (Argyle) 莫屬。這個以高品質 粉紅鑽著稱，白鑽產量也相當可觀的礦區，已於 2020 年停止生產並開 始土地復育計畫。

▲ A 1.02 CARAT RADIANT-SHAPED FANCY VIVID PURPLISH PINK DIAMOND 1.02克拉雷迪恩明亮形艷彩紫粉紅色鑽石 A 1.08 CARAT RADIANT-SHAPED FANCY DEEP PINK DIAMOND 1.08克拉雷迪恩明亮形深彩粉紅色鑽石

然而，就在礦區舉辦最後一場展售會的同時，世界同時見證了彩鑽 在市場上的地位不斷躍升。2020 年全球受到 COVID-19 疫情的影響， 普遍不振的寶石市場上，彩鑽表現依舊亮眼；而 2021 年的 Q1 已見漲幅， 至 Q3 為止，全年漲幅達 1.1%。其中來自 Argyle 礦區的表現更為優秀。 著名產區的歷史無疑讓這些鑽石更受注目，2021 年中，一場 Argyle 粉 紅鑽私人收藏的展售會便吸引了無數買家，33 顆鑽石的總售價預計將 達到一千八百萬美元。鑽石專業顧問 Anna Cisecki 在會中接受訪問表 示，自己的投顧公司在 Argyle 礦場關閉後，光是上半年收到的相關需 求數量，與以往相比就增加近 50%；另一位珠寶師 David Fardon 則表示， 過去 20 年間，Argyle 的標售價格漲幅高達 500%。整體而言，在過往 10-15 年間，粉紅鑽的價格平穩增漲了至少 10%，已可作為相當好的投 資標的。在傳奇礦場減產甚至停產的影響下，帶著閃耀名號的寶石自然 更為珍貴。

經過時間淬煉，在歷史上留下痕跡的傳奇礦場，在每一顆珍稀的 寶石上都留下了一點古老的靈魂。羅芙奧精品部認為，礦脈耗竭終有 時，但寶石流傳久遠的特性，使得逝去的礦區在市場上獲得新生，反而 成為足以提升價值的象徵。例如上文提到的兩個歷史著名礦區、停產百 年的喀什米爾藍寶石，以及受現實條件影響，隨時可能停產的哥倫比亞 Muzo 產區祖母綠等，都以出產極高品質的寶石而知名，也因此而成為 相當值得注意的投資標的。

◀ The Argyle Diamond Mine is located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. 阿蓋爾鑽石礦位於西澳大利亞偏遠北部的東金伯利地區