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.
Ethereal Nymph Print, Abstract Style, Archival Ink, 2010s, New
By Damien Hirst
Located in New York, NY
Damien Hirst is a British contemporary master artist and entrepreneur recognized for his iconic artworks that have defined the contemporary art world for over a decade. He is one of ...
Archival Ink
Transient Ephemera Print, Abstract Style, Archival Ink, 2010+
By Damien Hirst
Located in New York, NY
Damien Hirst is a British contemporary master artist and entrepreneur recognized for his iconic artworks that have defined the contemporary art world for over a decade. He is one of ...
Archival Ink
Heavenly Elysia Print, Abstract Style, Archival Ink, 2010+
By Damien Hirst
Located in New York, NY
Damien Hirst is a British contemporary master artist and entrepreneur recognized for his iconic artworks that have defined the contemporary art world for over a decade. He is one of ...
Archival Ink
Luna Chrysalis Print, Abstract Style, Archival Ink, 2010+
By Damien Hirst
Located in New York, NY
Damien Hirst is a British contemporary master artist and entrepreneur recognized for his iconic artworks that have defined the contemporary art world for over a decade. He is one of ...
Archival Ink
Aurora Dawn Abstract Print, Archival Ink, 2010+, Large Size 88x88 cm
By Damien Hirst
Located in New York, NY
Damien Hirst is a British contemporary master artist and entrepreneur recognized for his iconic artworks that have defined the contemporary art world for over a decade. He is one of ...
Archival Ink
Vital Aura Print, Abstract Style, Archival Ink, 2010+, New, 88x88 CM
By Damien Hirst
Located in New York, NY
Damien Hirst is a British contemporary master artist and entrepreneur recognized for his iconic artworks that have defined the contemporary art world for over a decade. He is one of ...
Archival Ink
Uriel from the Archangels H15-2
By Damien Hirst
Located in London, GB
2021 Giclée print in colours on archival fine art paper 52 x 114 cm Edition of 22 of 100 + 20 APs From The Archangels series Heni Editions Catalogue Number: H15-2 Signed on the bott...
Archival Paper, Giclée, Color
Butterfly Spin Painting, 2009. Acrylic painting by Damien Hirst
By Damien Hirst
Located in Hong Kong, HK
Damien Hirst (1965) Butterfly Spin Painting (2009) acrylic and metallic paint on paper 21 h × 27 w in (53 × 69 cm) Signed and stamped with Damien Hirst's studio's blindstamp; stam...
Paper, Acrylic
Butterfly Spin Painting, 2009 acrylic paint on paper painting by Damien Hirst
By Damien Hirst
Located in Hong Kong, HK
Damien Hirst (1965) Butterfly Spin Painting (2009) acrylic and metallic paint on paper 21 h × 27 w in (53 × 69 cm) Signed and stamped with Damien Hirst's studio's blindstamp; st...
Paper, Acrylic
Original Damien Hirst, 2022, Signed, Nūr Jahān (H10-2) from The Empresses
By Damien Hirst
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Damien Hirst Title: Nūr Jahān (H10-2) Medium: Laminated giclee print with screenprinted glitter on aluminum composite panel Date: 2022 Edition: 1946/3041 Sheet Size: 39 3/8" ...
Glitter, Giclée, Screen
Original Damien Hirst Butterfly Spin Painting, 2009
By Damien Hirst
Located in Seattle, WA
This is an original painting by Damien Hirst, created with public collaboration at the Damien Hirst Spin Workshop to celebrate the opening of Requiem at the PinchukArt Centre, Ukrain...
Acrylic, Paper
H10-2 Nūr Jahān Giclée Print on Aluminium, Contemporary, 21st Century
By Damien Hirst
Located in Bristol, GB
H10-2 Laminated Giclée print on aluminium composite, screen printed with glitter Edition 2019 of 3,041 100 x 100 cm Signed on a label affixed to the back Mint. Minor imperfections ma...
Giclée
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.
