Arton Contemporary is enthused to present a retrospective exhibit of Damien Hirst. Throughout his career Hirst has experimented with a variety of styles, mediums, and subject matter which speaks to his artistic prowess and imagination. A sculpture, painter, print maker, and drawer, Damien Hirst has shattered the bounds of contemporary art since his emergence in the art scene in the 1980s.
The evolution of time is conveyed through Hirst’s creative process as the artist continues to progress and conceive new ideas. ‘Damien Hirst: Reinventions’ presents a wide scope into the visual methodology of the artist's practice. Whether one is looking at the iconic highlights of Hirst’s career or more contemporary creations, his constant investigation of life, death, and spirituality makes his work so compelling.
Hirsts’ signature iconography of butterflies, spots, and color are at the forefront of this exhibition. The art in this show spans many years of Hirst’s practice, painting an interesting and encompassing picture of Hirst as both an artist and individual.
‘Pyronin Y,’ ‘Ethidium Bromide Aqueous Solution,’ and 'Cineole’ Etchings and Aquatints were created between 2004-2005. The pieces feature Hirst’s iconic individually colored spots, a series emphasizing the harmony of color. The different shades and tones compliment each other seamlessly. No two colors in this series are the same making each configuration unique. He revisits this theme in 2016 with the creation of ‘Spots’ Woodcuts and in 2017 with ‘Colour Chart.’ The large size of the spots in his woodcuts emphasize the relationship between the different colors. In 'Colour Chart' he expands on his conception of color with a rectangular composition and glittering texture that resemble paint swatches. We see Hirst’s spots again in the pieces ‘Mickey’ and ‘Minnie’ created in 2016. This time Hirst visually binds the textures from ‘Colour Chart’ with the forms in ‘Spots’. He reduces the classic cartoon characters to layered spots, solidifying their status as two of the most recognizable figures in pop culture.
In 2010 Damien Hirst created ‘All You Need is Love, Love, Love’ a larger than life screen print with Diamond Dust. The Butterflies are positioned inside the giant red heart, looking as if they were captured mid-flight. Hirst continues his exploration of butterflies in 2022 with ’The Empresses Series.’ Comprised of five pieces total and each named after a notable female Empresses in history; 'Wu Zetian' a highly intellectual Chinese empress (624-705 CE), 'Nūr Jahān' a multi-skilled empress of the Mughal Empire (1577-1645), 'Suiko' the first recorded empress of Japan (554-628 CE), and 'Taytu Betul' the fierce empress of Ethiopia (c. 1851-1918). The composition of each empress mimics a different kaleidoscope pattern. Both beautiful and fragile, Hirst uses the butterfly to represent the delicate nature of life. While the motif of the butterfly represents life, their beauty can be interpreted as a nod to the fragility of life.
In 2022 the Cartier Foundation displayed Damien Hirst's 'Cherry Blossoms' paintings at a solo exhibition at the Foundation Cartier in Paris. The exhibition later traveled to the National Art Center in Tokyo. Comprised of 107 paintings in total, Hirst chose eight to publish as prints . The eight prints are titled after one of the virtues of Bushidō according to Nitobe Inazō – Justice, Courage, Mercy, Politeness, Honesty, Honour, Loyalty, Control. Created during the pandemic, the works fuze Hirst’s signature spots with impressionist imagery through action painting. The series is thematically connected to pieces created by Hirst decades prior but approached from a completely different process and perspective, displaying his evolution as an artist. "The Cherry Blossoms are about beauty and life and death... They're about desire and how we process the things around us and what we turn them into, but also about the insane visual transience of beauty - a tree in full crazy blossom against a clear sky." - Damien Hirst.
Hirst throws paint onto a circular spinning canvas in his 'Spin Paintings.' Rather than creating the composition himself he allows the machine and fate to ultimately decide the finished product. Originally created as a reaction to the Abstract Expressionism movement in the 90s, Hirst has been creating 'Spin Paintings' for 30 years.
Damien Hirst's work constantly forces us to reevaluate and expand the boundaries of what it means to produce art in our modern world. He challenges us as viewers to examine aesthetics, design, and mass production. By blending the familiar and the unfamiliar Hirst has solidified his status as one of the most infamous contemporary artists of his time. He distinguishes the difference between, “Great art - or good art - is when you look at it, experience it and it stays in your mind.” This show contains great art. The pieces are identifiable, the imagery is impactful, and the messages remain at the forefront of your mind long after viewing them.
