DAMIEN HIRST Minnie, 2016

Damien Hirst was born in Bristol, England. He studied at the Jacob Kramer School of Art and during this time curated the student show ‘Freeze’ which launched the work of his classmates, ‘The Young British Artists’, of whom Hirst was to become the most prominent member. He continued his studies at Goldsmiths, University of London where he was particularly influenced by tutor Michael Craig-Martin. During this period Damien Hirst spent some time at a mortuary, an experience that led to a fascination with the theme of death. He is a sculptor, assemblagist, conceptual artist and painter, and uses art forms designed to provoke reactions from others. Damien Hirst’s works address mortality and death, as well as medicine and technology. He is famous for creating a series of works in which dead animals are preserved in formaldehyde. The best known of these is a large tiger shark entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Damien Hirst aims to challenge the boundaries between art and science, exploring the very basis of human existence and the meaning of life itself. His paintings include studies of insects, such as the ‘Butterfly Paintings’, which use actual butterflies suspended in paint, and ‘Entomology’ which combines butterflies with colorful insects and spiders. These images represent the fragility of life which remains beautiful in death. Damien Hirst received the DAAD fellowship in Berlin in 1994 and won the Turner Prize in 1995. More recently a retrospective of his work was held at the Tate Britain. His later works include paintings created using spin machines and cabinets filled with curiosities. His 2007 sculpture ‘For the Love of God’ consists of a human skull studied with priceless diamonds. In 2015 two Hirst sculptures, ‘Mental Escapology’ and ‘The Fragility of Love’ were displayed as part of the widely acclaimed ‘Dismaland’ theme park exhibition created by street artist Banksy in Weston-super-Mare, England. Less

Damien Hirst was born in Bristol, England. He studied at the Jacob Kramer School of Art and during this time curated the student show ‘Freeze’ which launched the work of his classmates, ‘The Young British Artists’, of whom Hirst was to become More