2016
British artist Damien Hirst is widely considered the enfant terrible of contemporary art. He is the most prominent of the so-called Young British Artists, or YBAs, a group, largely composed of Hirst’s classmates at Goldsmiths, in London, that began exhibiting together in warehouses and factories after 1988 and is known for the use of unconventional materials and “shock tactics” in his paintings, prints, sculptures and other works.
In the 1990s, Hirst said, “I can’t wait to get into a position to make really bad art and get away with it.” And indeed, he is notorious for piquing critics and baffling the public with such pieces as his signature glass vitrines containing dead sheep or sharks in formaldehyde, and his diamond-encrusted skull, For the Love of God.
Working primarily in sculpture, Hirst takes after French modernist master Marcel Duchamp in his use of ready-made objects and materials, which he combines to ironic effect. He often creates in series, as with "The Cure (Violet)" and "The Cure (Turquoise)," both from 2014, which are among several pill paintings referencing Andy Warhol’s embrace of mass production.
Belonging to Hirst's ongoing series of “spot” paintings, begun in the 1980s, the 2005 piece Xylene Cyanol Dye Solution is striking for its machinelike, industrial uniformity and almost childlike simplicity, a seeming rebuke to the idea of the artist-as-genius.
In addition to making art, Hirst has launched stores that sell editioned works (Other Criteria), a restaurant (Pharmacy2) and even his own London museum (Newport Street Gallery).
Find original Damien Hirst paintings, prints and other works on 1stDibs.
The Currency Unique Painting, Better Hold Your Nose
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
The Currency, launched in July 2021, is a collection of 10,000 NFTs which correspond with 10,000 original artworks by Damien Hirst. Collectors were given the choice to either keep th...
Enamel
The Currency Unique Painting
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
The Currency, launched in July 2021, is a collection of 10,000 NFTs which correspond with 10,000 original artworks by Damien Hirst. Collectors were given the choice to either keep th...
Enamel
The Currency Unique Painting
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
2016 Enamel paint on handmade paper 20 x 30 cm Hand signed, dated and titled by Damien Hirst Mint condition in the original packaging Unframed Damien Hirst (born 1965) rose to prom...
Enamel
The Currency Unique Painting
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
2016 Enamel paint on handmade paper 20 x 30 cm Hand signed, dated and titled by Damien Hirst Mint condition, framed in the Heni prescribed frame Accompanied by a gallery Certificate ...
Enamel
The Currency Unique Painting in the Heni Prescribed Frame
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
2016 Enamel paint on handmade paper 20 x 30 cm Hand signed, dated and titled by Damien Hirst Mint condition, framed in the Heni prescribed frame Damien Hirst (born 1965) rose to pr...
Enamel
Echoing Hidden Garden (HG224 Hidden Gardens)
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
Created using a bright, rich palette, Hidden Gardens further explores Hirst’s obsession with lush landscapes and playing with perspective. These densely-layered works bridge traditio...
Canvas, Oil
DAMIEN HIRST - THE CURRENCY. Original work The Currency Project. Dots. Colors
By Damien Hirst
Located in Madrid, Madrid
DAMIEN HIRST - THE CURRENCY: 6274. NOBODY SHOULD HEAR IT Date of creation: 2016 Medium: Enamel paint on handmade paper Edition: 5.149 unique works on paper Size: 21.5 x 30 cm Conditi...
Enamel
The Currency
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
Damien Hirst The Currency 8321, 2021 Enamel paint on paper 20 x 30 cm 7.8 x 11.8 inches Damien Hirst, a poster boy for the Young British Artists who rose to prominence in late 1980s...
Enamel
The Currency 7443. If I walked it in
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
Damien Hirst, The Currency 7443. If I walked it in (With original HENI Frame) Enamel paint, handmade paper, watermark, microdot, hologram, pencil 20 x 30 cm Hand-signed on the re...
Acrylic
The Currency 7383. so let’s go
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
Damien Hirst, The Currency 7383. so let’s go, 2016 (With original HENI Frame) Signed in pencil, titled, dated, and with the impression number 7383 on the reverse Enamel paint, handm...
Acrylic
The Currency 1109. tears off my skin
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
Damien Hirst, The Currency The Currency 1109. tears off my skin, 2016 (With original HENI Frame) Enamel paint, handmade paper, watermark, microdot, hologram, pencil 20 x 30 cm Si...
Mixed Media
Damien Hirst, The Currency Unique Print (H11) - Signed Print, Abstract Art
By Damien Hirst
Located in Hamburg, DE
Damien Hirst (British, born 1965) The Currency Unique Print (H11), 2022 Medium: Archival giclée print on paper Dimensions: 100 × 150 cm (39 2/5 × 59 1/10 in) Edition of 1000 unique p...
Giclée
Once built for curbs and handrails, these boards now hang beside blue-chip works in major museums and collectors’ homes.
Fierceness and fragility coalesce as the British artist revisits a cherished motif — the butterfly.
