Introduced by a mutual friend, the artist Bernar Venet, Simon Salama-Caro met Robert Indiana in 1987. Their first project together was the translation into bronze of eight wood and iron sculptures (made from found materials in the early 1960s) selected by the artist.
These bronze casts were included in the artist's solo exhibition in 1991, Robert Indiana: Early Sculpture, 1960-1962, at the Salama-Caro gallery in London.
In 1995, Indiana discussed with Salama-Caro his long-held vision to complete the editions from his sculpture series: LOVE, ART, AHAVA, and ONE Through ZERO (The Ten Numbers), which were conceived in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In 1998, Indiana added his sculpture AMOR to this program. Indiana specified the color combinations and sizes for each edition and expressed a desire to complete this project within his lifetime. Recognizing the extraordinary costs that would be needed, Salama-Caro organized the funding for this ambitious program. For this sculpture project the artist selected the fabricator Milgo Bufkin in Brooklyn, New York.
Together with Salama-Caro, Indiana was actively involved in supervising the works in this sculpture program and specifically trained the master painter and his team to achieve similar standards to his paintings. The artist always considered his sculpture to be in close dialogue with his paintings.
Entrustred by the artist to prepare his Catalogue Raisonné, Simon Salama-Caro is considered the leading authority on the artist's work and will continue with his family to actively assist in future exhibition programming and legacy building projects.
