Damien Hirst

Overview
View works. Damien Hirst, 5-Diazouracil, 2022
5-Diazouracil, 2022
View works

Damien Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965. He studied at Goldsmiths College in London and first came to public attention in 1988 when he conceived and curated "Freeze," an exhibition of his work and that of his friends and fellow students at Goldsmiths. In the near quarter century since that pivotal show, Hirst has become one of the most prominent artists of his generation. Many of his works are widely recognized, from the shark suspended in formaldehyde, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991) and his spot, spin and butterfly paintings, through to later works such as the diamond skull For the Love of God (2007). 

Hirst's paintings can be seen as a foil to his sculptural work, though they are similarly inconclusive. The 'spot' paintings are named after pharmaceutical stimulants and narcotics, the chemical enhancers of human emotion, and yet take the form of mechanical and unemotional Minimalist paintings. Their detachment is further emphasised by the exploitation of procedures that can be simply carried out by assistants under his instruction. Hirst's interest in contemporary society is further reflected in collaborative pop music projects and in his designs for the Pharmacy and Quo Vadis restaurants, London. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 1995.

Works
Biography
Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst (b. 1965) is one of the most influential artists of his generation, exploring the intersections of art, science, religion, and mortality through sculpture, installation, painting, and drawing. Rising to prominence in the late 1980s, he first captured attention while studying at Goldsmiths College by organizing Freeze (1988), a pivotal exhibition that launched the Young British Artists (YBAs) and defined a new era of British contemporary art.

Hirst’s practice challenges perceptions of beauty and belief, whether through his iconic Spot Paintings—vibrant grids of colored circles exploring color and repetition—or his Natural History series, featuring preserved animals in tanks of formaldehyde, including the famed tiger shark work The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living(1991). Other notable projects include his medicine cabinet installations, butterfly paintings, and the diamond-encrusted skull For the Love of God (2007), each examining human desire, mortality, and the promises of modern consumption.

Hirst’s ambitious projects have included the butterfly-filled In and Out of Love (1991) and the immersive Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable (2017) in Venice, demonstrating his commitment to creating art that is both conceptually rigorous and visually striking. He has exhibited widely, including retrospectives at Tate Modern and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, and in 2015 he opened Newport Street Gallery in London to share his collection with the public.

News