PINK! What is it about the color pink? No other shade out there is as adored, discussed or divisive. “Pink is absolutely one of my favorite colors,” says Kirsten Kjaer Weis. “There are just so many nuances within it.” It was made the official color of punk rock by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood in the ‘70s and immortalized by Millenials as the color of NOW. Dubbed the navy blue of India by Diana Vreeland. Celebrated in high-fashion exhibitions, (The Valerie Steele-curated “Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color”), psychoanalyzed in Harvard social studies and of course, captured in billions upon billions of tubes and bottles of makeup.

Pink is so powerful that it magnifies anything you pair it with. Mash it against black or red for edge. Slip it next to white or silver for sweetness. “One of my favorite things is to create offbeat color combinations with pink makeup shades,” says Kjaer Weis. “Ones that are out of the box and maybe shouldn’t work. I love it with bright red. Or paired with amber, or green. And depending on the depth of hue and tone, it really is super-flattering on all skin tones." We asked artists across multiple mediums—including food!—for their modern interpretations of the most controversial and glorious of colors.