2021
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.
Untitled
Located in London, GB
Jacob Kassay Untitled, 2011 Signed and dated Jacob Kassay on the reverse - Diptych each part signed respectively 1/2 and 2/2 Acrylic on Linen Each work measures 51.2 x 35.8 cm 20.2 x...
Canvas, Acrylic
Untitled (2008)
Located in London, GB
William Sellers Untitled (2008), 2008 Acrylic on canvas 63cm. diameter William Sellers (1929-2019), a sculptor and painter whose career spanned six decades, created a diverse body o...
Canvas, Acrylic
Slash
By Nick Darmstaedter
Located in London, GB
Nick Darmstaedter Slash, 2013 Signed, titled and dated "Nick Darmstaedter 2013 'SLASH'" on the overlap Oxidized copper on canvas 61.3 x 45.7 cm Nick Darmstaedter produces artwork wi...
Mixed Media
7 Plato's Republic, (Book IV, 438e cont.)
By Josh Rowell
Located in London, GB
Josh Rowell 7 Plato's Republic, (Book IV, 438e cont.), 2024 Signed and dated on verso Acrylic on canvas 30 x 20 cm 11.9 x 7.9 inches Josh Rowell generates his artistic vision by foc...
Canvas, Acrylic
8 Plato's Republic, (Book IV, 438e - 439a)
By Josh Rowell
Located in London, GB
Josh Rowell 8 Plato's Republic, (Book IV, 438e - 439a), 2024 Signed and dated on verso Acrylic on canvas 30 x 20 cm 11.9 x 7.9 inches Josh Rowell generates his artistic vision by fo...
Canvas, Acrylic
Pattern Portrait
Located in London, GB
Matt Sheridan Smith Pattern Portrait, 2013 Acrylic and gel transfer on paper on canvas 152.5 x 122.0 cm Should categorization be a desirable goal, th...
Mixed Media
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
By Damien Hirst
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Damien Hirst is arguably the most successful living British artist. He established his reputation, as both an artist and curator, in the 1990s with a new generation of creators known...
Acrylic, Handmade Paper
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 9714. No Way Out
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
Damien Hirst, The Currency 9714. No Way Out, 2016 (With original HENI Frame) Enamel paint, handmade paper, watermark, microdot, hologram, pencil 20 x 30 cm Hand-signed on the rev...
Acrylic
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.
