Oil on canvas with collage of butterflies, syringes and pills, 2008. 592x657 mm; 23 1/4x25 7/8 inches. Unique multiple within an edition of 35. Signed in pencil, lower right.
This work is registered in the archive of Damien Hirst, London, under the number DHS 11647.
Hirst (born 1965) burst onto the international art market following the 1988 "Freeze" exhbition that he had curated at Goldsmiths College, London, where he studied art. Many of his works and themes have become iconic images in the contemporary art canon, from his shark suspended in formaldehyde, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991, to his spot, spin and butterfly paintings (see lot 327). His multi-million dollar, diamond encrusted skull For the Love of God, 2007, a sensation when it first appeared on the market, like many of his his previous works, has spawned a wildly successful series of sculpture, paintings and limited editions of the subject (see lot 326).
The current, more recent work combines several of Hirst's reoccurring themes: including the spot and butterfly paintings as well as drug references--these reach their height in his Pharmacy installations--with their inherent emphasis on medecine, sickness and mortality.
