2009
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.
Spin
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
By Damien Hirst 2009 Stamped by artist A vibrant example of Damien Hirst’s iconic spin paintings, this work embodies the artist’s exploration of colour, movement, and controlled r...
Paper, Acrylic
Spin
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
By Damien Hirst 2009 Stamped by artist A vibrant example of Damien Hirst’s iconic spin paintings, this work embodies the artist’s exploration of colour, movement, and controlled r...
Paper, Acrylic
Spin
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
By Damien Hirst 2009 Stamped by artist A vibrant example of Damien Hirst’s iconic spin paintings, this work embodies the artist’s exploration of colour, movement, and controlled r...
Paper, Acrylic
Spin
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
By Damien Hirst 2009 Stamped by artist A vibrant example of Damien Hirst’s iconic spin paintings, this work embodies the artist’s exploration of colour, movement, and controlled r...
Paper, Acrylic
Spin
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
By Damien Hirst 2009 Stamped by artist A vibrant example of Damien Hirst’s iconic spin paintings, this work embodies the artist’s exploration of colour, movement, and controlled r...
Paper, Acrylic
Spin
By Damien Hirst
Located in Manchester, GB
By Damien Hirst 2009 Stamped by artist A vibrant example of Damien Hirst’s iconic spin paintings, this work embodies the artist’s exploration of colour, movement, and controlled r...
Paper, Acrylic
Beautiful, Everlasting, Inexhaustibly Interesting, Revelatory Painting, SIGNED
By Damien Hirst
Located in New York, NY
Damien Hirst H12-4: Beautiful, Everlasting, Inexhaustibly Interesting, Self-Revelatory Gyration Painting, 2023 Mixed Media Giclée print on poly-cotton artist canvas mounted on a birc...
Plywood, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Giclée
Damien Hirst – Dot Spin Painting, 2009
By Damien Hirst
Located in Madrid, MD
Damien Hirst – Dot Spin Painting, 2009 Acrylic on paper, presented in a museum-grade acrylic case with transparent sides and gold leaf wooden backing. Created in 2009 to celebrate t...
Acrylic
H12-5 - 132 Beautiful, Very Undescribable, Almost Universal, Altogether Novel
By Damien Hirst
Located in Bristol, GB
Giclée print on poly-cotton artist canvas mounted on birch plywood stretcher Unique variant from an edition of 473 100 x 100 cm (39.4 x 39.4 in) Signed on the front Mint. Sold in...
Canvas, Plywood, Giclée
Damien Hirst - Beautiful, Tastefully Sensuous Explosion Painting, Unique Print
By Damien Hirst
Located in Hamburg, DE
Damien Hirst (British, born 1965) Beautiful, Tastefully Sensuous Explosion Painting (H12-2), 2023 Medium: Giclée print on poly-cotton artist canvas mounted on birch plywood stretcher...
Canvas, Giclée
Damien Hirst – Shark Spin Painting, 2009
By Damien Hirst
Located in Madrid, MD
Damien Hirst – Shark Spin Painting, 2009 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Framing: Museum-quality acrylic case with silver leaf wooden backing Dimensions: W 76 x D 5,5 X H 71 cm. Descript...
Acrylic
Damien Hirst Spin Painting, Abstract Acrylic on Paper Framed
By Damien Hirst
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Damien Hirst Spin Painting, 2009 (Damien Hirst Circle): A mesmerizing Damien Hirst Spin painting with explosions of vivid color amidst the timeless...
Paper, 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.
