The New York Post isn’t crazy about Jeff Koons or his Celebration-series diamond:
The penthouse terrace at 1 Sutton Place South has been turning heads since owner Richard Perry and his fashion-designer wife, Lisa, installed the massive green stainless-steel sculpture by famed modern artist Jeff Koons.
According to Artnet.com, the 5-foot-high work was sold in 2005 for $2.3 million and was part of a series of similar sculptures of gigantic diamonds. A blue version sold for $11 million.
The green sculpture, which was hauled to its spot with a crane, isn’t the only bling on the terrace. A wall behind the artwork is encrusted with smaller, flower-shaped gemstones. The sculpture has run into some trouble since it was installed in 2007.
Neighbors who live across the street in a penthouse at 14 Sutton Place complained that the light reflecting off it was burning like lasers through their windows, and workmen had to adjust the diamond’s positioning, a source said.
It has also not been a hit with amateur art critics.
“I think it’s as ugly as it comes,” said Juergen Thieme, who lives across the street at 2 Sutton Place. “But everyone has a right to his kind of beauty. It’s not my kind. People to whom I’ve spoken don’t care too much for it, either.”
Diamond in the Roof (NY Post)