Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst is a British conceptual artist and the best known representative of the Young British Artists (YBA). Along with Liam Gillick, Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas, Hirst was part of the YBA movement that rose to fame in the 1990s and whose members exhibited their work in unconventional spaces such as warehouses and factories.


Art collector and gallery owner Charles Saatchi became an early patron and financed Hirst's 1991 exhibition The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living: the work consisted of a large display case containing a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde and marked the beginning of the artist's highly successful and lucrative career. In 1995, Hirst was awarded the Turner Prize.


Damien Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965, grew up in Leeds and then studied at Goldsmiths College in London. He now lives and works between London, Gloucestershire and Devon.


CV

Damien Hirst, Portrait des Künstlers

Exhibitions

Available works

    Cherry Blossoms - Damien Hirst

    The Virtues - Damien Hirst

    Hirst's artistic odyssey takes a startling turn when he draws inspiration from Nitobe Inazō's groundbreaking work Bushidō:
    The Soul of Japan", published in 1900. Nitobe's explanation of the samurai's ethical code, with his elegant formulation of the eight virtues, serves as the conceptual basis for Hirst's exploration. Justice, courage, mercy,
    Courtesy, honesty, honor, loyalty and self-control - these virtues, according to Nitobe, formed the basis of the samurai's existence and shaped their daily and professional lives.

    The juxtaposition of Nitobe's venerable ethical framework with Hirst's signature artistic styles, reminiscent of impressionism, pointillism and the dynamism of action painting, creates an exquisite symphony in The Virtues.
    Each print in the series bears the mantle of one of these virtues, a nuanced exploration of the intersection between ethical principles and aesthetic exuberance.

    "Damien Hirst's homage to Nitobe's cultural bridging, underlined by the assertion that, as far as man is concerned, there is neither East nor West," underlines the
    Universality of human experience. The cherry blossoms, a symbol of fleeting beauty and the cycle of life and death, serve as the thematic core. With an astute reference to artistic trends, Hirst orchestrates an ensemble of color, texture and form that evokes the spontaneity of impressionist brushstrokes, the meticulous precision of pointillist dots and the visceral energy of action
    Painting reminds.

    In his own words, Hirst illustrates the deep nature of cherry blossoms: "It's about longing and how we process love and why we need it." The fleeting yet captivating beauty of the flowers reflects the fragility of our own existence. Hirst asks us to confront the transience of life, embodying the dichotomy of hope and hopelessness in the delicate petals against the clear blue sky.

    As we move through the convoluted labyrinth of Hirst's The Virtues, we should heed his call to savor the fleeting splendor of life. The flowers, both optimistic and fragile, poignantly remind us of our shared humanity. With this masterful synthesis of ethics and aesthetics, Damien Hirst invites us to immerse ourselves in the vivid colors of existence and challenges us to make the most of life's fleeting moments.

    Impressions

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