Hirst is the artist of the painting. Everything you need to know about Damien Hirst

It was he who came up with the idea of ​​encrusting human skulls with diamonds and making art objects from the corpses of cows. Damien Hirst(Damien Hirst) is a British artist and collector who first gained fame in the late 1980s. Member of the Young British Artists group, considered the most dear artist in the world and the richest in the UK according to The Sunday Times (2010). His works are included in the collections of many museums and galleries: Tate, Museum contemporary art in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, Central Museum Ulrecht and others. Damien Hirst was born on June 7, 1965 in Bristol, UK. Much of his childhood was spent in Leeds. After his parents' divorce, when Damien was 12 years old, he began to lead a more free lifestyle and was arrested twice for petty theft. However, Hirst was interested in drawing from childhood and graduated from Leeds Art College, and later continued his studies at Goldsmiths College, University of London (1986–1989). Some of his drawings were made in the morgue; the theme of death subsequently became the main one in the artist’s work. Damien Hirst is a member of civil marriage with designer Maya Norman, the couple has three sons. Most Hirst spends time with his family at his home in Devon in northern England. Dream, 2008 Anthem, 2000 In 1988, Damien Hirst organized an exhibition of Goldsmith students (Richard and Simon Patterson, Sarah Lucas, Fiona Rae, Angus Fairhurst, etc., later they began to be called “Young British Artists”) Freeze, which attracted public attention. Here the artists, and above all Hirst, were noticed by the famous collector Charles Saatchi. Lost Love, 2000 In 1990, Damien Hirst took part in the Modern Medicine and Gambler exhibitions. He presented his work “A Thousand Years”: a glass container with the head of a cow, covered with corpse flies, this work was bought by Saatchi. From this time on, Damien and the collector began to work closely together until 2003. “I will die - and I want to live forever. I cannot escape death, and I cannot escape the desire to live. I want to see at least a glimpse of what it’s like to die.” In 1991, Hirst’s first solo exhibition in London, In and Out of Love, took place, and in 1992, the Young British Artists exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, which featured Hirst’s work “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living”: Tiger Shark in formaldehyde. This work simultaneously brought the artist fame even among those who are far from art, and a nomination for the Turner Prize. In 1993, Hirst took part in the Venice Biennale with the work “Mother and Child Separated”, and a year later he curated the exhibition Some Went Mad, Some Ran Away, where he presented his composition “The Lost Sheep” (a dead sheep in formaldehyde), which was renamed "Black Sheep" when the artist poured ink into the aquarium. Damien Hirst received the Turner Prize in 1995. At the same time, the artist presented the installation Two Fucking and Two Watching, representing a decomposing cow and bull. In subsequent years, Hirst's exhibitions were held in London, Seoul, and Salzburg. In 1997, Hirst's autobiographical book "I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now" was published. In 2000, the work “Hymn”, shown at the Art Noise exhibition, was acquired by Saatchi; the sculpture was an anatomical model of the human body more than six meters high. In the same year, the exhibition “Damien Hirst: Models, Methods, Approaches, Assumptions, Results and Findings” was held, which was visited by about 100 thousand people, all of Hirst’s sculptures were sold. Self-portrait: "Kill yourself, Damien" In 2004, one of the most famous works Hirst - "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living" - Saatchi sold to another collector, Steve Cohen. Its cost was $12 million. "It's very easy to say, 'Well, even I could do that.' The point is that I did “it” In 2007, Damien Hirst presented the work “For the love of God - a human skull, covered in platinum and studded with diamonds, only the teeth are natural. It was bought by a group of shareholders (including Hirst himself) for 50 million pounds (or $100 million), while the artist himself spent 14 million pounds on its creation. Thus, “For the Love of God” is the most expensive work of art by a living artist. “Investment banker in formaldehyde” Hirst is also a painter; some of his most famous works are the triptychs “Meaning Nothings”, made in the manner of Francis Bacon (some of them were sold before the opening of the exhibition in 2009), the Spots series (multi-colored dots on white backgrounds reminiscent of pop art), Spins (concentric circles), Butterflies (canvases using butterfly wings).
Damien Hirst also acts as a designer: in 2009, he used his painting “Beautiful, Father Time, Hypnotic, Exploding Vortex, The Hours Painting” to design the cover of the album “See the Light” by the British The group Hours, and in 2011 he came up with the album cover Red Hot Chili Peppers "I'm with You". He has also collaborated with Levi's, ICA and Supreme and has designed covers for magazines including Pop, Tar and Garage. Hirst the collector owns a collection of paintings by Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, and Tracey Emin. Cover of Tar Magazine, spring-summer 2009 (design by Damien Hirst, model Kate Moss Cover of Garage Magazine, autumn-winter 2011/2012 (photo by Hedi Slimane, design by Damien Hirst, model Lily Donaldson) Cover of Pop Magazine, autumn-winter 2009/2010 (photo by Jamie Morgan, design by Damien Hirst, model Tavi Gevinson) Red album cover Hot Chili Peppers “I’m with You” (2011) Clothing by Damien Damien Hirst X Supreme Skateboard Series, 2011
Works* In and Out of Love (1991), installation. * The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), a tiger shark in a tank with formaldehyde. This was one of the works nominated for the Turner Prize. * Pharmacy](1992), life-size reproduction of a pharmacy. * Away from the Flock (1994), dead sheep in formaldehyde. * Some Comfort Gained from the Acceptance of the Inherent Lies in Everything (1996) installation.
*Mother and Child Divided*" For the Love of God", (2007) Records of D. Hirst * In 2007, the work "For the Love of God" ( platinum skull, encrusted with diamonds) was sold through the White Cube gallery to a group of investors for a record amount for living artists of $100 million.

A 16.5 meter tall statue of a headless demon fills the atrium of Palazzo Grassi

For the first time in history, both Venetian exhibition spaces of the collector François Pinault are given over to one exhibition. And they were occupied by none other than Damien Hirst, one of the most famous artists modernity. The details of the exhibition were kept secret until the opening: it was only known that new project The author has been cooking for the last 10 years.

Damien Hirst, "Hydra and Kali" (two versions) and "Hydra and Kali underwater (underwater photography by Christoph Gehrigk)." Photo: rudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

On Sunday, April 9, the public finally had the opportunity to attend the Venice exhibition of the British Damien Hirst. He created exhibits for her under cover of secrecy over the course of last decade.

"Kronos Devouring His Children"
Photo: Andrea Merola / ANSA / AP / Scanpix / LETA

“Treasures from the wreck of the Incredible are located in both palaces of the Pino Foundation - Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. This is the first time in history that both centers have given space to one artist.

The exhibition is presented as a multi-layered labyrinth of treasures from a ship that sank 2,000 years ago and was only discovered in 2008 (coincidentally, the previous year of Hirst's career peak).

Damien Hirst, “Hydra and Kali” (fragment). Photo: Andrea Merola/AP

Damien Hirst

51-year-old Damien Hirst is considered the richest living artist in the world. He is the most bright representative group “Young British Artists” (Britart), which has dominated the art of Foggy Albion for the last quarter of a century.

Hirst's work "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living" (1991), representing a tiger shark in an aquarium with formaldehyde, is a symbol of this unification.

Treasures of the Wreck of the Incredible: Damien Hirst Exhibition at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana Center for Contemporary Art, Venice. Photo: Damien Hirst and Science Ltd

“Treasures from the wreck of the Incredible is a multi-layered labyrinth of sculptures, historical objects, photographs and video footage of the “discovery” and “rescue” of the priceless cargo.

"Two Garudas"

According to legend, the ship sank off the coast East Africa.

"Demon with a Cup"
Photo: Andrea Merola / EPA / Scanpix / LETA

On board was an extensive art collection belonging to a freed slave named Sif Amotan II.

The collection included artifacts from all civilizations known at that time and was headed to the museum island, where it was to be displayed. The ship sank, and all its valuables rested serenely in the depths of the sea until 2008. Now these treasures appear before us.

Damien Hirst, “Five Naked Greek Women”, “Five Antique Torsos”, “Naked Greek Woman” (three versions).

Each exhibit at the exhibition was made in triplicate. In the first version, it looks like a treasure raised from sea ​​day(“Coral” in Hirst’s language); in the second - as a rescued relic restored by modern restorers (“Treasure”); and in the third - as a reproduction of a pseudo-historical object (“Copy”).

Damien Hirst, "Cyclops Skull" and "Divers Study Cyclops Skull (Underwater Photography)."
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

Damient Hirst, Skull of the Cyclops.
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd

Damien Hirst, "View of Katya Ishtar Yo-landi."
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

There are huge bronze warrior goddesses, unique marble busts and skulls of Cyclops, prayer figurines, tombs, tables, urns, display cases with shields, precious jewelry and coins.

Sculpture at the exhibition “Treasures of the Incredible Shipwreck”
Photo: Awakening/Getty Images

Hirst used a variety of costly materials - malachite, gold, lapis and jade - to create a museum-quality collection of artifacts evocative of ancient world.

Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

Damien Hirst, The Severed Head of Medusa.
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

Damien Hirst, "Sorrow".
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

For added verisimilitude, many works are decorated with white worms and “corals” of incredible colors. The theme of the shipwreck is complemented by large-format photographs and very realistic video footage of divers working off the coast of the Zanzibar archipelago.

According to Artnet.com, in order to lower giant bronze statues to the bottom Indian Ocean, and then raise them, special rescue ships were hired.

Damien Hirst, Hydra and Kali Discovered by Four Divers.
Photo: Christoph Gerigk © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

Damien Hirst, "The Stone Calendar".
Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Damien Hirst, "The Unknown Pharaoh" (fragment). The model for this work was clearly American singer, rapper, producer, musician and fashion designer Pharrell Williams. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

It is worth noting that in all this carefully designed surroundings the faces of musician Pharrell Williams, model Kate Moss, singers Rihanna and Yolandi Visser flash...

Bust of Tadukheppa, the younger wife Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III
Photo: Miguel Medina / AFP / Scanpix / LETA

Not to mention the Mickey Mouse statue in Punta della Dogana. Damien Hirst himself appears in the bronze work "Bust of the Collector Sif Amotan II", hinting that he is not only a creator, but also a collector of works of art.

Damien Hirst, “Sphinx” (version “Coral”); below - Damien Hirst, “Sphinx” (version “Treasure”).
Both photos: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

According to the New York Times, major dealers - such as the Gagosian Gallery or the White Cube - have already bought some of the works at prices ranging from 500 thousand to 5 million dollars per copy. However, like most of the facts in the exhibition, this information is hidden under a veil of secrecy.

Damien Hirst, Proteus.
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

Damien Hirst, "Jade Buddha".
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

Damien Hirst’s exhibition “Treasures from the Wreck of the Incredible” will be one of the central events of the Venice Biennale and will last until December 3, 2017.

Damien Hirst, "The Remains of Apollo".
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.

The Gary Tatintsian Gallery has opened an exhibition of Damien Hirst, one of the most expensive and famous contemporary artists. This is not the first time Hirst has been brought to Russia: before that there was a retrospective at the Russian Museum, a small exhibition at the Triumph Gallery, as well as a collection of the artist himself at MAMM. This time, visitors will be presented with the most significant works of 2008, sold by the artist himself at Sotheby's personal auction in the same year. Buro 24/7 tells why butterflies, multi-colored circles and tablets are so important for understanding Hirst's work.

How Hirst became an artist

Damien Hirst can be fully considered the personification of Young British Artists - a generation of no longer young, but very successful artists, whose peak heyday came for the 90s. Among them are Tracey Emin with neon inscriptions, Jake and Dinos Chapman with a love for small figures and a dozen other artists.

The YBA are united not only by their studies at the prestigious Goldsmiths College, but also by their first joint exhibition, Freeze, which was held in 1988 in an empty administration building in London's docklands. Hirst himself acted as the curator - he selected the works, ordered the catalog and planned the opening of the exhibition. Freeze attracted the attention of Charles Saatchi - advertising tycoon, collector and future patron of Young British Artists. Two years later, Saatchi acquired Hirst's first installation in his collection, A Thousand Years, and also offered him sponsorship for his future creations.

Damien Hirst, 1996. Photo: Catherine McGann/Getty Images

The theme of death, which later became central to Hirst’s work, already appears in A Thousand Years. The essence of the installation was a constant cycle: flies emerged from the eggs of larvae, crawled to the rotting cow's head and died on the wires of an electronic fly swatter. A year later, Saatchi lent Hirst money to create another work about the circle of life - the famous stuffed shark placed in formaldehyde.

“The physical impossibility of death in the consciousness of a living person”

In 1991, Charles Saatchi bought an Australian shark for Hirst for six thousand pounds. Today the shark symbolizes the soap bubble of modern art. For newspaper people, it has become a common staple (for example, the Sun article entitled “£50,000 for fish and chips”), and also became one of the main topics of the book by economist Don Thompson, “How to sell a stuffed shark for 12 million: scandalous truth about contemporary art and auction houses.”

Despite the noise, hedge fund head Steve Cohen bought the work in 2006 for eight million dollars. Among the interested buyers was Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate Modern gallery, largest museum Sovriska along with the New York MoMA and the Paris Pompidou Center. Attention to the installation was attracted not only by the list of key names for contemporary art, but also by its duration of existence - 15 years. Over the years, the shark's body had become rotten, and Hirst had to replace it and stretch it onto a plastic frame. “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of a Living Person” became the first work in the series “ Natural history- Subsequently, Hirst also placed sheep and dismembered cow carcasses in formaldehyde.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991

Black Sheep, 2007

Love's Paradox (Surrender or Autonomy, Separateness as a Precondition for Connection.), 2007

The Tranquility of Solitude (for George Dyer), 2006

Rotations and kaleidoscopes

Hirst's works can be divided into several genres. In addition to the aforementioned aquariums with formaldehyde, there are “rotations” and “spots” - the latter are performed by the artist’s assistants in his studio. Butterflies continue the theme of life and death. There is also a kaleidoscope like a stained glass window in gothic cathedral, and the grandiose installation “Falling in Love or Falling Out of Love” - rooms completely filled with these insects. To create the latter, Hirst sacrificed about nine thousand butterflies: 400 new insects were brought daily to the Tate Gallery, where the retrospective was held, to replace the dead.

The retrospective became the most visited in the history of the museum: in five months it was seen by almost half a million spectators. Next to the theme of life and death, there is also a logical “pharmacy” - when looking at the artist’s dot paintings, associations arise specifically with medicines. In 1997, Damien Hirst opened the Pharmacy restaurant. It closed in 2003, and the sale of decorative and interior items at auction brought in an astounding $11.1 million. Hirst also developed the theme of medications in a more visual way - a separate series by the artist is dedicated to cabinets with hand-laid out pills. The most financially successful work was “Spring Lullaby” - a rack of pills brought the artist $19 million.

Damien Hirst, Untitled, 1992; In Search of Nirvana, 2007 (installation fragment)

"For the Love of God"

Another famous work by Hirst (and also expensive in every sense) is a skull studded with more than eight thousand diamonds. The work received its name from the First Epistle of John - “For this is the love of God.” This again refers us to the theme of the frailty of life, the inevitability of death and discussions about the essence of existence. In the forehead of the skull is a diamond worth four million pounds. The production itself cost Hirst 12 million, and the price for the work ultimately amounted to about 50 million pounds (about 100 million dollars). The skull was shown in Amsterdam state museum, and then sold to a group of investors through the White Cube gallery of Jay Jopling, another major dealer who collaborated with Hirst.

Damien Hirst, "For this is the love of God", 2007

Records, fakes and the phenomenon of fame

Although Hirst does not set absolute records, he is considered one of the most expensive among living artists. The rise in prices for his works reached a peak in the late 2000s, with the sale of a shark, a skull and other works. A separate episode can be called the Sotheby's auction at the height of the economic crisis of 2008: it brought him 111 million pounds, which is 10 times more than the previous record - a similar auction by Picasso in 1993. The most expensive lot was the "Golden Calf" - the carcass of a bull in formaldehyde, sold for £10.3 million.

The story of Hirst's formation is an example of an ideal scenario for anyone contemporary artist, in which competent marketing played almost a key role. Even ridiculous stories like a gallery cleaner Eyestorm, who put the artist’s installation in a trash bag, or the Florida pastor, convicted of trying to sell Hirst fakes in 2014, look incomprehensible against the backdrop of the loud antics of the artist himself. The decline in interest in Hirst has become most obvious in the last five years after the next exhibition at White Cube- the pressure of critics became more noticeable, Hirst’s ingenuity no longer amazed the jaded public, and auction records passed to other players - Richter, Koons and Kapoor. One way or another, Hirst’s halo of fame continues to spread to his old works, which today can be viewed in the Tatintsyan Gallery. Hirst also has new projects ahead - on the eve of the Venice Biennale, the artist opens a large exhibition at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. According to the press release, they are "the fruit of a decade of work" - it is likely that everyone will be talking about Damien Hirst again.

Damien Hirst(eng. Damien Hirst, b. June 7, 1965) – modern English artist. One of the most prominent representatives of the Young British Artists group. Winner of the Turner Prize 1995. Estimates for 2010: the richest artist in the world.

Biography and creativity

Damien Hirst born in 1965 in Bristol (England). Grew up in Leeds. His father left the family when Hearst was 12 years old, and his mother was unable to control her son. In his youth, he was arrested twice for shoplifting.

Studied at art school at Leeds and then (after a two-year pause) at Goldsmith College (1986-1989), which at that time was considered innovative and offered an experimental training program, which attracted many talented students and teachers. At this time, he was very interested in the work of Francis Bacon, which was reflected in his future works. Even before completing his studies, in July 1988, he curated an exhibition "Freeze", which featured his own installations, among others. It should be noted that this exhibition itself was in many ways the project of the 23-year-old Hirst and marked the beginning of both his own career and the careers of a number of other artists, many of whom were also Goldsmiths graduates. Here Hirst was first noticed by millionaire and art collector Charles Saatchi, who was greatly impressed by the artist’s work. A year later, at Hirst’s second exhibition, he bought his work “A Thousand Years” and offered financial assistance in the creation of future works.

Installation "A thousand years" was a kind of system illustrating such global processes as life and death. The theme of death - Hirst's key theme - already occupies a dominant position in this work. The installation consisted of a container with fly eggs, a rotting cow's head and an electric fly swatter. Larvae hatched from the eggs, crawled towards the food (the cow's head), turned into flies and died when they came into contact with the fly swatter. Over time, the installation changed - the head became smaller and smaller, and there were more and more corpses of flies, and the viewer, coming to the exhibition again, saw the entire process described above in dynamics, observing not only life's path flies, but also the result of this process.

With Saatchi's money, Hirst created a work called “The physical impossibility of death in the consciousness of a living person”. This work was a dead four-meter shark in formaldehyde. It laid the foundation for a number of similar installations, one of which is "Mother and Child Separated"(literally from English) “Mother and child. Divided") – was presented at the Venice Biennale and brought Hirst international fame. Here the viewer sees creatures “frozen in death,” something frightening and repulsive, something that is no longer alive, but still retains its easily recognizable appearance. So, for example, in front of the conventional viewer of the installation “Physical Impossibility...” there is no shark, it has already died and only its shell remains. But the “dead” is perceived by the viewer only as “inanimate”. He sees the “formerly alive,” interpreting the new object through the prism of what it once was, rather than guided by what it is now.

The theme of death, which sometimes turns into the theme of the transience of life, runs like a red thread through all the work of Damien Hirst. In 2007 he created a work called "For the love of the Lord!", which is sometimes called « Diamond Skull Damien Hirst" and which became known as the most expensive work of art living author. This piece itself is a copy of the skull of a 35-year-old European man, made of platinum and completely encrusted with diamonds. There is a pink diamond in the center of the skull's forehead. The creation of this work cost Hirst 14 million pounds sterling.

Despite the conceptual foundations of Hirst's works, it is difficult to deny the deliberately scandalous nature of many of his works of this artist. Following dead animals in formaldehyde and the most expensive work art in the world installation should be mentioned "In and Out of Love" or in in this case "Inside and Out of Love"). There were chrysalises attached to the canvases on the walls, from which butterflies emerged. Entering the room, the spectators found themselves among these insects, which flew around them, landing both on the spectators themselves and on containers with fruit placed in the same room. The exhibition took place at the Tate Modern gallery and lasted 5 months. During this time, it attracted more than 460,000 visitors and became the most visited solo exhibition in the gallery's history. Later information appeared that 9,000 butterflies died during the exhibition and this caused protests from a number of environmental organizations.

Damien Hirst's paintings can be classified as geometric abstractionism (example: series "Spot paintings") and (example: series “Spin paintings”)). The “Spots” series consists of paintings that depict circles of the same size, but different in color (the color is never the same), arranged in a lattice shape. The Rotations series consists of paintings that were created by pouring paint onto a rotating canvas. Hirst is also the author of a number of paintings that return us to the theme of butterflies: the Butterfly Color Paintings series consists of works where dead butterflies are attached to still-dry paint, which become the basis of the composition.