Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst. Damien Hirst in Venice invites you to admire the luxurious treasures of the “Incredible

Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst. Among other samples contemporary art Damien Hernst can be distinguished as a whole series of anatomical sculptures. The work of the sculptor and artist is rather ambiguous and causes a lot of both admiration and criticism. Let's take a closer look at his anatomical sculptures.

Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst - The Virgin Mother (2005):

"Virgin Mother" is a 10 meter (33 ft) bronze sculpture with a painted anatomical section. The figure’s pose is reminiscent of Edgar Degas’s “The Little Dancer of Fourteen.” According to Hernst, "The Virgin Mother" shows that the pregnant figure looks significantly older, and this is a problem. The sculpture is located in private collection in NYC.

Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst - Truth (Verity, 2003 - 2012):

Another one wide famous work Damien Hirst's 20 meter (66.43 ft) sculpture "Truth", weighing 25 tons. "Truth" is an allegory of truth and justice. The pose of the figure is taken again from Edgar Degas’s “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years.” An anatomical cross-section of the head and torso reveals her skull and the developing fetus inside her womb.

“Truth” stands on a pedestal of scattered legal books and has the traditional symbols of justice - a sword and scales. The scales are hidden in the hand behind the back, while the figure holds the sword in a confidently raised hand. The sculpture seems to hint at the fact that justice can be dangerous without justice.

Technically, the sculpture is made of 40 individual parts assembled together on a steel frame. During the design and manufacturing process, the sculpture underwent numerous tests, including in a wind tunnel. Now “Truth” is on long-term lease and installed in the port of North Devon (UK).

Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst - Wretched War (2004):

“Poor War” is made in a similar manner as the previous two sculptures, and represents the figure of a pregnant woman without a head with an anatomical section. The head is located at the feet of the sculpture. The body of the sculpture is covered with cracks and chips; at the base, next to the head, there are other fragments of the figure. “Poor War” is made in bronze and is just over one and a half meters high.

Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain (2006):

"Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain" - a bronze sculpture made in Christian artistic tradition, depicting the martyrdom of the apostle. The inspiration for this work came from images of the saint in paintings, familiar to Damien Hirst since childhood. Hearst was raised in a Catholic school as a child.

"Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain" serves as a reminder that strict distinctions between art, religion and science are relatively recent. Hirst explains that historically, images of St. Bartholomew (the patron saint of doctors and surgeons) were often used by physicians for anatomical studies. In Hirst's interpretation, the serene saint stands on a table littered with surgical instruments. He holds a scalpel in his hand, in accordance with traditional depictions, but in his other hand he holds scissors. Inspired by Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990), Hirst believes that scissors add exposition and pain, beauty and tragedy.

Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst - Hymn (Hymn, 1999 - 2005):

"Anthem" is painted bronze sculpture 20 feet, which weighs more than six tons. The piece was inspired by an anatomical model that belonged to Hirst's son. It turned out exact copy medical exhibit, but much happier, friendlier, more colorful and vibrant.

Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst - Temple (Temple, 2008):

“Temple” is another work by Damien Hirst on the theme of an anatomical exhibit. The height of the sculpture is 6.6 meters, it is made of painted bronze.

Anatomical sculptures by Damien Hirst - Legend (Legend, 2011):

"Legend" sculpture in painted bronze. One side of the sculpture presents us with a fabulous animal from legends - the horse Pegasus. The other side of the sculpture is devoid of skin, exposing the structure of bones, muscle tissue and tendons.

There is an opinion that an artist can be either extremely rich or extremely poor. This can be applied to the person who will be discussed in this article. His name is and he is one of the richest living artists.

If you believe the Sunday Times, then according to their estimates, this artist was the richest in the world in 2010, and his fortune was estimated at 215 million pounds sterling.

The work of Damien Hirst

In modern art, this person occupies the role of “the face of death.” This is partly due to the fact that he uses materials that he is not used to using to create works of art. Among them, it is worth noting paintings of dead insects, parts of dead animals in formaldehyde, a skull with real teeth, etc.

His works evoke shock, disgust and delight in people at the same time. Collectors from all over the world are willing to pay huge sums of money for this.

The artist was born in 1965 in a city called Bristol. His father was a mechanic and left the family when his son was 12 years old. Damian's mother worked in a consulting office and was an amateur artist.

The future “face of death” in contemporary art led an asocial lifestyle. He was arrested twice for shoplifting. But despite this, the young creator studied at the Leeds School of Art, and then entered a London college called Goldsmith College.

This establishment was somewhat innovative. The difference from others was that other schools simply accepted students who did not have enough skills to enter a real college, but Goldsmiths College brought together many talented students and teachers. They had their own program, for which you did not need to be able to draw. IN Lately This form of training has just gained popularity.

IN student years he loved to visit the morgue and make sketches there. This place laid the foundation for his future themes of works.

From 1990 to 2000, Damien Hirst had problems with drugs and alcohol. During this time, he managed to commit many different pranks while drunk.

Artist's career ladder

Hirst first became interested in the public at an exhibition called "Freeze", which took place in 1988. At this exhibition, at work of this artist Charles Saatchi noticed. This man was a famous tycoon, but, in addition, he was an avid lover of art and collected it. The collector acquired two works by Hirst within a year. After this, Saatchi often purchased works of art from Damien. You can count about 50 works that were purchased by this person.

Already in 1991, the above-mentioned artist decided to hold his own exhibition, which was called In and Out of Love. He did not stop there and held several more exhibitions, one of which was held in

In the same year, his most famous work was produced, it was called “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living.” It was created at the expense of Saatchi. The work done by Damien Hirst, the photo of which is located a little lower, was a container with a large one that was immersed in formaldehyde.

In the photo it may seem that the shark is quite short in length, but in fact it was 4.3 meters.

Scandals

In 1994, at an exhibition curated by Damien Hirst, a scandal occurred with an artist under the name Mark Bridger. This incident happened because of one of the works called “Strayed from the Herd,” which represents a sheep immersed in formaldehyde.

Mark came to the exhibition where there was a show of this work art and in one motion poured a can of ink into the container and proclaimed the new name of this work - " Black sheep". Damien Hirst sued him for an act of vandalism. At the trial, Mark tried to explain to the jury that he simply wanted to complement Hirst's work, but the court did not understand him and found him guilty. He could not pay the fine, because at that time was in a poor condition, so he was given only 2 years of probation.After some time, he created his own “Black Sheep”.

Damien's achievements

Happened in 1995 significant date in the artist's life - he was nominated for the Turner Prize. The work entitled “Mother and Child Separated” was the reason why Damien Hirst became the winner of this prize. The artist combined 2 containers in this work. In one of them there was a cow in formaldehyde, and in the second a calf.

The last "loud" work

Most last job, which caused a stir, is on which Damien Hirst spent quite a lot of money. Damien Hirst has never had a work, the photo of which already shows all its high cost.

The title of this installation is “For the Love of God.” It represents a human skull, which is covered with diamonds. 8601 diamonds were used for this creation. The total size of the stones is 1100 carats. This sculpture is the most expensive of all the artist’s. Its price is 50 million pounds sterling. After that, he cast a new skull. This time it was the skull of a baby, which was called "For God's Sake." The material used was platinum and diamonds.

In 2009, after Damian Hirst held his exhibition "Requiem", which caused a stormy wave of discontent from critics, he announced that he had given up installations and would henceforth again engage in ordinary painting.

Outlook on life

Based on the interview, the artist calls himself a punk. He says that he is afraid of death, because real death truly terrible. According to him, it is not death that sells well, but only the fear of death. His views on religion are skeptical.

Some may not believe in Pegasus or unicorn, but they actually exist! And these mythical equids exist thanks to creative imagination the most famous artist modernity Damien Hirst. His anatomical sculptures Legend And Myth are now on display in the courtyard of the English museum Chatsworth House.

In total, the exhibition features 189 exhibits, including hundreds of sculptures (one of them gigantic) and 21 rooms filled with small objects. How much did it cost exhibition project François Pinault Foundation remains a mystery. According to the New York Times, the cost of work varies from $500 thousand per small works up to $5 million for a large sculpture.

However, the most expensive work has not yet been sold - apparently, there are absentee auctions between collectors for it. This is the bronze version giant statue"Demon with a Ball" standing in the atrium of the Palazzo Grassi. It is not even presented at the exhibition: due to the too high cost of transportation, it was decided to replace it with a sculpture cast in the same mold, but from polymer. As Nate Freeman writes, the bronze is valued at $14 million, and his source said the current bid for it is $1.3 million. By the way, the availability of copies is another brilliant marketing move by Hirst. All 189 exhibits are made in three versions: using a technique that imitates an object overgrown with corals; from valuable materials (marble, bronze, etc.); and a “copy” (obviously made of polymer). Depending on the material used, the price for each exhibit differs. According to rumors, some collectors bought three versions of their favorite work at once.

Although artistic value works and the very concept of the exhibition cause serious controversy in the art community; art critics and art market analysts admit that the Venice exhibition has already become triumphant return Damien Hirst for the big one art scene after a series of creative and commercial failures last decade. Obviously, in terms of “collections” it will surpass his previous record, when a two-day auction of one artist at Sotheby’s in the fall of 2008 brought in about $200 million. Interestingly, Damien Hirst’s dealers Larry Gagosian and Jay Joplin from White Cube Gallery refused to comment on the artist’s latest sales in Venice .

The Gary Tatintsian Gallery has opened an exhibition of Damien Hirst, one of the most expensive and famous contemporary artists. This is not the first time Hirst has been brought to Russia: before that there was a retrospective at the Russian Museum, a small exhibition at the Triumph Gallery, as well as a collection of the artist himself at MAMM. This time visitors will be presented with the most significant works 2008, sold by the artist himself at a personal auction at Sotheby's in the same year. Buro 24/7 tells why butterflies, colorful circles and tablets are so important for understanding Hirst's work.

How Hirst became an artist

Damien Hirst can be fully considered the personification of Young British Artists - a generation of no longer young, but very successful artists, whose peak of prosperity was in the 90s. Among them are Tracey Emin with neon inscriptions, Jake and Dinos Chapman with a love for small figures and a dozen other artists.

YBA is united not only by studying at the prestigious Goldsmiths College, but also by the first joint exhibition Freeze, which took place in 1988 in an empty administration building in London's docklands. Hirst himself acted as the curator - he selected the works, ordered the catalog and planned the opening of the exhibition. Freeze attracted the attention of Charles Saatchi - advertising tycoon, collector and future patron of Young British Artists. Two years later, Saatchi acquired Hirst's first installation in his collection, A Thousand Years, and also offered him sponsorship for his future creations.

Damien Hirst, 1996. Photo: Catherine McGann/Getty Images

The theme of death, which later became central to Hirst’s work, already appears in A Thousand Years. The essence of the installation was a constant cycle: flies emerged from the eggs of larvae, crawled to the rotting cow's head and died on the wires of an electronic fly swatter. A year later, Saatchi lent Hirst money to create another work about the circle of life - the famous stuffed shark placed in formaldehyde.

“The physical impossibility of death in the consciousness of a living person”

In 1991, Charles Saatchi bought an Australian shark for Hirst for six thousand pounds. Today the shark symbolizes soap bubble contemporary art. For newspaper people, it has become a common staple (for example, the Sun article entitled “£50,000 for fish and chips”), and also became one of the main topics of the book by economist Don Thompson “How to sell a stuffed shark for 12 million: the scandalous truth about modern art and auction houses."

Despite the noise, hedge fund head Steve Cohen bought the work in 2006 for eight million dollars. Among the interested buyers was Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate Modern gallery, largest museum Sovriska along with the New York MoMA and the Paris Pompidou Center. Attention to the installation was attracted not only by the list of key names for contemporary art, but also by its duration of existence - 15 years. Over the years, the shark's body had become rotten, and Hirst had to replace it and stretch it onto a plastic frame. “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of a Living Person” became the first work in the series “ Natural history- Subsequently, Hirst also placed sheep and dismembered cow carcasses in formaldehyde.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991

Black Sheep, 2007

Love's Paradox (Surrender or Autonomy, Separateness as a Precondition for Connection.), 2007

The Tranquility of Solitude (for George Dyer), 2006

Rotations and kaleidoscopes

Hirst's works can be divided into several genres. In addition to the aforementioned aquariums with formaldehyde, there are “rotations” and “spots” - the latter are performed by the artist’s assistants in his studio. Butterflies continue the theme of life and death. Here is a kaleidoscope, like a stained glass window in a Gothic cathedral, and a grandiose installation “Falling in or Falling Out of Love” - rooms completely filled with these insects. To create the latter, Hirst sacrificed about nine thousand butterflies: 400 new insects were brought daily to the Tate Gallery, where the retrospective was held, to replace the dead.

The retrospective became the most visited in the history of the museum: in five months it was seen by almost half a million spectators. Next to the theme of life and death, there is also a logical “pharmacy” - when looking at the artist’s dot paintings, associations arise specifically with medicines. In 1997, Damien Hirst opened the Pharmacy restaurant. It closed in 2003, and the sale of decorative and interior items at auction brought in an astounding $11.1 million. Hirst also developed the theme of medications in a more visual way - a separate series by the artist is dedicated to cabinets with hand-laid out pills. The most financially successful work was “Spring Lullaby” - a rack of pills brought the artist $19 million.

Damien Hirst, Untitled, 1992; In Search of Nirvana, 2007 (installation fragment)

"For the Love of God"

Another famous work Hirst (and also expensive in every sense) - a skull studded with more than eight thousand diamonds. The work received its name from the First Epistle of John - “For this is the love of God.” This again refers us to the theme of the frailty of life, the inevitability of death and discussions about the essence of existence. In the forehead of the skull is a diamond worth four million pounds. The production itself cost Hirst 12 million, and the price for the work ultimately amounted to about 50 million pounds (about 100 million dollars). The skull was shown in Amsterdam state museum, and then sold to a group of investors through the White Cube gallery of Jay Jopling, another major dealer who collaborated with Hirst.

Damien Hirst, "For this is the love of God", 2007

Records, fakes and the phenomenon of fame

Although Hirst does not set absolute records, he is considered one of the most expensive among living artists. The rise in prices for his works reached a peak in the late 2000s, with the sale of a shark, a skull and other works. A separate episode can be called the Sotheby's auction at the height of the economic crisis of 2008: it brought him 111 million pounds, which is 10 times more than the previous record - a similar auction by Picasso in 1993. The most expensive lot was the "Golden Calf" - the carcass of a bull in formaldehyde, sold for £10.3 million.

The story of Hirst's formation is an example of an ideal scenario for anyone contemporary artist, in which competent marketing played almost a key role. Even ridiculous stories like the gallery cleaner Eyestorm, who put the artist’s installation in a trash bag, or the Florida pastor, convicted of trying to sell Hirst fakes in 2014, look incomprehensible against the backdrop of the loud antics of the artist himself. The decline in interest in Hirst has become most obvious in the last five years after the next exhibition at White Cube- the pressure of critics became more noticeable, Hirst’s ingenuity no longer amazed the jaded public, and auction records passed to other players - Richter, Koons and Kapoor. One way or another, Hirst’s halo of fame continues to spread to his old works, which today can be viewed in the Tatintsyan Gallery. Hirst has new projects ahead - on the eve Venice Biennale the artist opens a large exhibition at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. According to the press release, they are "the fruit of a decade of work" - it is likely that everyone will be talking about Damien Hirst again.