The 'For The Love Of God' Skull is a silkscreen print with diamond dust by Contemporary Master Damien Hirst. Created in 2007, the limited edition print is one of only 1,000 in existence. This piece depicts the famed 18th century platinum cast human skull with 8,601 flawless diamonds encrusted in the sculpture. The artwork is a memento mori, or reminder of the mortality of the viewer. Art historian Rudi Fuchs described the work as "out of this world, celestial almost. It proclaims victory over decay. At the same time it represents death as something infinitely more relentless. Compared to the tearful sadness of a vanitas scene, the diamond skull is glory itself". The silkscreen print is layered with genuine diamond dust over the surface of the skull and is signed in white ink in the right lower corner by the Artist. ‘For The Love of God’ comes in a custom made museum caliber glossy black frame, matte with textural sheen and is outfitted with UV non-glare glass. The framed dimensions measure: 28 x 24 x 2 in. Hirst uses art to change something into something else and thus subvert emotions. His skulls have the capacity to win over death, at least over the temporal, physical and dark aspect of it: rotting decay. ‘For The Love Of God’’ arrives ready to install with the Arton seal of approval for authenticity, quality and exquisite composition. Arton Contemporary is a gallery located on Madison Avenue, specializing in the Contemporary masters, such as Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and many others. Arton Contemporary brings a fresh perspective with advising services and has been a trusted source for rare blue-chip art acquisitions for the past 16 years. We put our clients first with focus on transparency, dedication and unmatched premium services.
"You don’t like it (death), so you disguise it or you decorate it to make it look like something bearable – to such an extent that it becomes something else.” - Damien Hirst
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Damien Hirst is a British contemporary master artist and entrepreneur recognized for his iconic artworks that have defined the contemporary art world for over a decade. His varied practice, which includes installation, sculpture, painting, and drawing, explores the complex relationships between life, death, art, religion, and science. Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965 and grew up in Leeds, England. In 1984, he moved to London, where he worked in construction before enrolling at Goldsmiths University of London, in 1986 to study fine art. While at Goldsmiths, Hirst organized the independent student exhibition Freeze, which has become legendary as the originating moment of the Young British Artists (YBAs). Freeze, which exhibited Hirst’s first spot paintings, launched Hirst and 15 of his fellow students to fame, making their place in art history. In 1991, Charles Saatchi, offering to fund Hirst’s artwork, mounted the first Young British Artists (YBA) exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Among the works exhibited was The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), a shark submerged in a formaldehyde vitrine, which became an overnight sensation. As a result of the show, Hirst was nominated for that year's Turner Prize. Hirst again won the Turner Prize in 1995 for his piece, Mother and Child Divided, which consists of a cow and a calf each bisected and held within its own glass case. Hirst is well recognized for his spot paintings, medicine cabinet motifs, brightly colored spin paintings, kaleidoscopic butterflies, and diamond-encrusted skulls. Since 1987, over 80 solo Damien Hirst exhibitions have taken place worldwide and his work has been included in over 260 group shows. He has permanent sculptural installations across the globe and is the UK's richest living artist. Hirst continues to work and create art in the present day, with his recent focus primarily on paintings.
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