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 very 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 crash site 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 also the most prominent representative of the 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 Center contemporary art Punta della Dogana, 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 of 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 the seabed (“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 expensive 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, special rescue ships were hired to lower the giant bronze statues to the bottom of the Indian Ocean and then raise them.
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, 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 central events Venice Biennale and will run until December 3, 2017.
Damien Hirst, "The Remains of Apollo".
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.
Dominating the art scene since the 1990s.
In the 1980s, Goldsmith College was considered innovative: unlike other schools that accepted students who could not get into a real college, Goldsmith School attracted many talented students and inventive teachers. Goldsmith introduced an innovative program that did not require students to draw or paint. Over the past 30 years, this model of education has become widespread throughout the world.
As a student at the school, Hirst regularly visited the morgue. Later he would notice that many of the themes of his works originated there.
Career
In July 1988, Hirst curated the acclaimed Freeze exhibition in the empty Port of London Authority building in London Docks; The exhibition featured the works of 17 students of the school and his own creation - a composition of cardboard boxes painted with latex paints. The exhibition itself Freeze was also the fruit of Hirst’s creativity. He selected the works himself, ordered the catalog and planned the opening ceremony.
Freeze became the starting point for several artists of the YBA association; In addition, the famous collector and art patron Charles Saatchi drew the attention of Hirst.
Hirst graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1989. In 1990, together with his friend Karl Friedman, he organized another exhibition, Gamble, in a hangar, in an empty building of the Bermondsey plant. Saatchi visited this exhibition: Friedman remembers how he stood with his mouth open in front of Hirst's installation called A Thousand Years - a visual demonstration of life and death. Saatchi purchased this creation and offered Hirst money to create future works.
Thus, with Saatchi’s money, in 1991 the Physical Impossibility of Death in the Consciousness of a Living Person was created, which was an aquarium with a tiger shark, the length of which reached 4.3 meters. The work cost Saatchi £50,000. The shark was caught by an authorized fisherman in Australia and had a price tag of £6,000. As a result, Hirst was nominated for the Turner Prize, which was awarded to Greenville Davey. The shark itself was sold in December 2004 to collector Steve Cohen for $12 million (£6.5 million).
Hirst's first international recognition came to the artist in 1993 at the Venice Biennale. His work "Mother and Child Divided" featured parts of a cow and calf placed in separate aquariums containing formaldehyde. In 1997, the artist’s autobiography “I Want To Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now” was published.
Hirst's latest project, which caused a lot of noise, is a life-size image of a human skull; the skull itself is copied from the skull of a European, about 35 years old, who died sometime between 1720 and 1910; real teeth are inserted into the skull. The creation is encrusted with 8,601 industrial diamonds weighing a total of 1,100 carats; they cover it completely, like pavement. In the center of the forehead of the skull is a large pale pink diamond of 52.4 carats of standard brilliant cut. The sculpture is called For the Love of God and is the most expensive sculpture by a living author - £50 million.
In 2011, Hirst designed the album cover music group Red Hot Chili Peppers “I’m with you.”
Works
Unlike sculptures and installations that practically do not deviate from the theme of death, Damien Hirst’s paintings at first glance look cheerful, elegant and life-affirming. The artist’s main painting series are:
Painting
| Colored mugs became Hirst's trademark, an antidote to those of his works whose theme was death and decay; since no two spots completely match in color, these paintings are free from harmony, from color balance and from all other aesthetic tricks, they are all like advertising posters, emit a joyful, eye-catching glow |
How to sell a dead shark for 12 million dollars?
The bloody reputation of sharks has ensured their popularity not only among residents of seaside towns, but also among business tycoons who successfully envelop these formidable fish.
Selling a dead fish for $12 million is a deal the luckiest businessmen probably wouldn’t even dream of.
However, this turned out to be quite possible for the New York advertising business tycoon, the famous art collector Charles Saatchi.
The origins of the story about the dead lie back in 1991, when fashionable British artist Damien Hirst himself, as he admitted, posted advertisements for the purchase of a freshly caught shark carcass on the coast of the Australian town of Ipswich.
Not much was promised - only 4 thousand dollars for the capture of the predator, and another 2 thousand for the fact that the carcass would be covered with ice and sent by plane to England.
None of the fishermen could have imagined that they would later be able to make a fortune from this corpse!
Hirst needed the dead shark to create a work of art with the complex title “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” - and Saatchi also commissioned it.
For the creation of the exhibition, the tycoon paid the artist 50 thousand pounds sterling (about 100 thousand dollars at that time).
In fact, the masterpiece was a 5-meter shark embalmed in formaldehyde.
Even at that time, the sum seemed so ridiculous that the famous weekly Sun newspaper greeted the deal with the headline “50 thousand for fish without chips!”
Only a year passed - and the dead carcass began to decompose due to unsuccessful processing of the tissues - the dorsal fin fell off, the skin became wrinkled and acquired a green tint, and the formaldehyde in the aquarium became cloudy.
The curators of the Saatchi Gallery, trying to somehow save the exhibit, added a little bleach to the tank, but this only accelerated the decomposition.
Finally, in 1993, they gave up, skinned the corpse and stretched it onto a strong plastic frame. The dead shark was still green.
Shark in formaldehyde - art without borders
Around the same time, animal rights activists, with the help of the media, started a riot on the pages of newspapers, declaring that this was not art, but an ordinary mockery of a corpse.
What prevented Saatchi from simply throwing away the rotten fish and replacing it with exactly the same, but fresh? Art critics answer this question categorically - if the shark is somehow updated or changed, it will no longer be the same work. Just like if you repaint a Rembrandt, it won’t be Rembrandt anymore.
Finally, Saatchi decided to sell the exhibit. The mediator was the famous New York art dealer Larry Gagosian.
A few London collectors and museums were known to have shown mild interest, but none expressed any definite desire to buy the long-spoiled dead fish.
$12 million for a dead fish
The most promising of all the buyers turned out to be billionaire from Connecticut, collector Steve Cohen. He purchased the exhibit.
12 million dollars - the price of a rotten, half-collapsed, discolored fish shocked the world contemporary art market.
And the point is not even that this amount turned out to be the largest in the world ever paid for a work by the artist during his lifetime.
Steve Cohen, who earns more than half a billion dollars a year, can easily afford such a whim - simple calculations show that the purchase cost him only five days' income.
But is such an acquisition a work of art? The opinions of experts, and even ordinary people, differ.
And while people argue, the tank containing the world's most famous dead shark is gathering dust in the vaults of Steve Cohen's gallery.
There is an opinion that an artist can be either extremely rich or extremely poor. This can be applied to the person who will be discussed in this article. His name is and he is one of the richest living artists.
If you believe the Sunday Times, then according to their estimates, this artist was the richest in the world in 2010, and his fortune was estimated at 215 million pounds sterling.
The works of Damien Hirst
In modern art, this person occupies the role of “the face of death.” This is partly due to the fact that he uses materials that he is not used to using to create works of art. Among them, it is worth noting paintings of dead insects, parts of dead animals in formaldehyde, a skull with real teeth, etc.
His works evoke shock, disgust and delight in people at the same time. Collectors from all over the world are willing to pay huge sums of money for this.
The artist was born in 1965 in a city called Bristol. His father was a mechanic and left the family when his son was 12 years old. Damian's mother worked in a consulting office and was an amateur artist.
The future “face of death” in contemporary art led an asocial lifestyle. He was arrested twice for shoplifting. But despite this, the young creator studied at the Leeds School of Art, and then entered a London college called Goldsmith College.
This establishment was somewhat innovative. The difference from others was that other schools simply accepted students who did not have enough skills to enter a real college, but Goldsmiths College brought together many talented students and teachers. They had their own program, for which you did not need to be able to draw. IN Lately This form of training has just gained popularity.
IN student years he loved to visit the morgue and make sketches there. This place laid the foundation for his future themes of works.
From 1990 to 2000, Damien Hirst had problems with drugs and alcohol. During this time, he managed to commit many different pranks while drunk.
Artist's career ladder
Hirst first became interested in the public at an exhibition called "Freeze", which took place in 1988. At this exhibition, at work of this artist Charles Saatchi noticed. This man was a famous tycoon, but, in addition, he was an avid lover of art and collected it. The collector acquired two works by Hirst within a year. After this, Saatchi often purchased works of art from Damien. You can count about 50 works that were purchased by this person.
Already in 1991, the above-mentioned artist decided to hold his own exhibition, which was called In and Out of Love. He did not stop there and held several more exhibitions, one of which was held in
In the same year, his most famous work was produced, it was called “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living.” It was created at the expense of Saatchi. The work done by Damien Hirst, the photo of which is located a little lower, was a container with a large one that was immersed in formaldehyde.
In the photo it may seem that the shark is quite short in length, but in fact it was 4.3 meters.
Scandals
In 1994, at an exhibition curated by Damien Hirst, a scandal occurred with an artist under the name Mark Bridger. This incident happened because of one of the works called “Strayed from the Herd,” which represents a sheep immersed in formaldehyde.
Mark came to the exhibition where there was a show of this work art and in one motion poured a can of ink into the container and proclaimed the new title of this work - “Black Sheep”. Damien Hirst sued him for vandalism. At the trial, Mark tried to explain to the jury that he simply wanted to complement Hirst’s work, but the court did not understand him and found him guilty. He was unable to pay the fine, because at that time he was in poor condition, so he was given only 2 years of probation. After some time, he created his own "Black Sheep".
Damien's achievements
In 1995, a significant date occurred in the artist’s life - he was nominated for the Turner Prize. The work entitled “Mother and Child Separated” was the reason why Damien Hirst became the winner of this prize. The artist combined 2 containers in this work. In one of them there was a cow in formaldehyde, and in the second a calf.
The last "loud" work
The most recent work that has caused a stir is one on which Damien Hirst spent quite a lot of money. Damien Hirst has never had a work, the photo of which already shows all its high cost.
The title of this installation is “For the Love of God.” It represents a human skull, which is covered with diamonds. 8601 diamonds were used for this creation. The total size of the stones is 1100 carats. This sculpture is the most expensive of all the artist's. Its price is 50 million pounds sterling. After that, he cast a new skull. This time it was the skull of a baby, which was called "For God's Sake." Platinum and diamonds were used as materials.
In 2009, after Damian Hirst held his exhibition "Requiem", which caused a storm of discontent from critics, he announced that he had given up installations and would henceforth again engage in ordinary painting.
Outlook on life
Based on the interview, the artist calls himself a punk. He says that he is afraid of death, because real death is truly terrible. According to him, it is not death that sells well, but only the fear of death. His views on religion are skeptical.
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 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 of prosperity was in the 90s. Among them are Tracey Emin with neon lettering, 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: the scandalous truth about modern 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 the duration of its 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 the Living” was the first work in the “Natural History” series - subsequently Hirst also placed a 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 medical drugs in a more visual way - a separate series by the artist is dedicated to cabinets with hand-laid out pills. Most financially successful work became “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 Hirst (and also expensive in every sense) - 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 the 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 big exhibition in 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.