2011
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.
For the Love of God, Laugh
By Damien Hirst
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Damien Hirst (b. 1965) is one of the most divisive, high-profile, and arguably misunderstood artists of the contemporary era. (In)famous internationally for encapsulating a tiger sh...
Screen
Opium
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
Damien Hirst Opium, 2000 Lambda C-Type print on Gloss Fuji Archive paper. Signed by the artist, lower right on recto Numbered on verso 48 x 43.7 cm 52 x 48 cm (framed) Edition of 500...
C Print, Lambda
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 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
InvadHirst
By Damien Hirst
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Damien Hirst X Invader Title: Invadhirst Year: 2025 Medium: 21-colour silkscreen print on Somerset Satin White 410 gsm cotton paper Edition: 1194; hand-signed by the artists ...
Screen
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
Carvacrol
By Damien Hirst
Located in Miami, FL
Damien Hirst Carvacrol Screenprint with diamond dust Signed to lower right Edition 92/150 Published by Other Criteria, London Hirst explains that, “mathematically, with the spot wo...
Paper, Glitter, Screen
$17,152
H 39.38 in W 39.38 in
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 Gagosian Gallery 2012 (catalogue)
By Damien Hirst
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Damien Hirst Gagosian Gallery 2012 catalogue. "The Complete Spot Paintings: 1986 – 2011" published by Gagosian Gallery showcasing 25 years of Hirst's works. Medium: Exhibition catal...
Paper, Offset
Spin (Skull)
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
Damien Hirst "Diamond Skull (For the Love of God)"
By Damien Hirst
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Hirst, Damien Title: Diamond Skull (For the Love of God) Date: 2007 Medium: Screenprint with Glazes Unframed Dimensions: 39.25" x 29.5" Framed Dimensions: 40.5" x 30.5" ...
Glaze, Screen
H10-5 Taytu Betul
By Damien Hirst
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Hirst, Damien Title: H10-5 Taytu Betul Series: The Empresses Date: 2022 Medium: Laminated Giclée print on aluminium composite, screen printed with glitter Unframed Dimen...
Glitter, Giclée
Sanctum
By Damien Hirst
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Hirst, Damien Title: Sanctum Date: 2009 Medium: Etching on Hahnemühle paper Unframed Dimensions: 46.25" x 45.5" Framed Dimensions: 53" x 51.5" x 2" Signature: Pencil s...
Etching
Damien Hirst "The Dead - Silver Gloss/Loganberry Pink" Skull Print
By Damien Hirst
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Hirst, Damien Title: The Dead - Silver Gloss/Loganberry Pink Series: The Dead Date: 2009 Medium: Color Foil Block Print on Arches Archival Paper Unframed Dimensions: 28...
Color
Damien Hirst "Earth"
By Damien Hirst
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Hirst, Damien Title: Earth Series: The Elements Date: 2020 Medium: Diasec-mounted Giclee print on aluminium composite panel Unframed Dimensions: 39.37" x 39.37" Signatu...
Glitter, Giclée
Damien Hirst "The Dawn of Golden Time" Print
By Damien Hirst
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Hirst, Damien Title: The Dawn of Golden Time Date: 2013 Medium: Foil block collage on Arches 88 paper with hand embellishment Unframed Dimensi...
Foil
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.
