Profile: The Diamantaire brightens the streets of Paris and your interiors
This week, discover the profile of Le Diamantaire, one of our leading artists. This Parisian street artist is a renowned French sculptor. Part of the Parisian post-graffiti movement, he has created more than 1,800 works around the world, some of which are now part of permanent collections.
Born in Caen in 1987, Le Diamantaire studied metalwork and then metal fabrication. This is how he developed a taste for shaping materials by hand and learned techniques that have gradually nurtured his creativity and craftsmanship, foreshadowing the work he does with mirrors today.
It was discovering Obey’s “André the Giant Has a Posse” in 2001 that inspired him to use the street as a canvas for self-expression. He then turned to graffiti and quickly covered the walls of his hometown with his art. These numerous works eventually earned him a ban on graffiti. Far from giving up on the idea of sharing his creativity with as many people as possible, he began working with stencils. This technique reflects his desire for a more figurative, accessible, and impactful form of artistic expression.
Like Mr OneTeas and in keeping with La Manufacture’s mission, he sources the materials for his works almost exclusively from reclaimed objects. He collects discarded mirrors and reimagines them as public artworks on walls. Since 2011, he has been working with the theme of diamonds, although 2014 marked a turning point in his career. A patron sponsors his work and provides him with a vast 900 m² studio. This workspace, along with its many machines and tools, gives him the resources to fully express his creativity. He creates large-scale pieces, such as his monumental steel work 4000, which measures four by four meters. This piece, created for a street art festival in the Paris suburbs, marked the transition in the artist’s work from two to three dimensions.
That same year, Le Diamantaire traveled to Montreal to accept an invitation from Station 16 gallery, which invited him to take part in the MURAL Festival in June. Impressed by the artist’s work, the gallery subsequently invited him to hold a solo exhibition, “Street Art from Paris.” Upon his return to France, he created a series of 10 pieces, which were exhibited at Wide Painting gallery in Paris’s 5th arrondissement and at MISS KO, the latest Parisian restaurant designed by Philippe Starck. The works on display, all very different from one another but always centered on the theme of diamonds, illustrate his transition from street artist to contemporary artist.
If you’ve been captivated by Le Diamantaire’s work, La Manufacture offers a selection of diamond artworks, which you can find by clicking this link. To learn more about the artist’s approach or admire his works in situ, feel free to book an appointment to visit our Paris showroom or call us at 0648769729.
