Menu

Damien Hirst

Relics and Fly Paintings

June 5–September 11, 2021
Britannia Street, London

Installation video Play Button

Installation video

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Installation view

Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Works Exhibited

Damien Hirst, The Dance, 2005 Patinated silver, 76 ⅜ × 16 ⅛ × 16 ⅛ inches (194 × 41 × 41 cm), edition of 1 + 1 AP© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, The Dance, 2005

Patinated silver, 76 ⅜ × 16 ⅛ × 16 ⅛ inches (194 × 41 × 41 cm), edition of 1 + 1 AP
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Fear of Death (Half Skull), 2007 Flies, resin, aluminum, and glass, 16 ⅜ × 12 × 12 inches (41.5 × 30.5 × 30.5 cm), 1 of 30 unique versions© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Fear of Death (Half Skull), 2007

Flies, resin, aluminum, and glass, 16 ⅜ × 12 × 12 inches (41.5 × 30.5 × 30.5 cm), 1 of 30 unique versions
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Destruction, 2008 Flies and resin on canvas, 84 × 84 inches (213.4 × 213.4 cm)© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Destruction, 2008

Flies and resin on canvas, 84 × 84 inches (213.4 × 213.4 cm)
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Devil Worship, 2008 Flies and resin on canvas, 84 × 84 inches (213.4 × 213.4 cm)© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Devil Worship, 2008

Flies and resin on canvas, 84 × 84 inches (213.4 × 213.4 cm)
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Black Mass, 2008 Flies and resin on canvas, 72 × 72 inches (182.9 × 182.9 cm)© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Black Mass, 2008

Flies and resin on canvas, 72 × 72 inches (182.9 × 182.9 cm)
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Black Mass, 2008 (detail) Flies and resin on canvas, 72 × 72 inches (182.9 × 182.9 cm)© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Black Mass, 2008 (detail)

Flies and resin on canvas, 72 × 72 inches (182.9 × 182.9 cm)
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Proteus, 2012 Bronze, 94 ½ × 38 ¾ × 25 ⅞ inches (240 × 98.3 × 65.5 cm), edition of 3 + 2 AP© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Damien Hirst, Proteus, 2012

Bronze, 94 ½ × 38 ¾ × 25 ⅞ inches (240 × 98.3 × 65.5 cm), edition of 3 + 2 AP
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

About

I always say [my work is] about life, but I don’t know, I suppose it does dwell on the dark side.
—Damien Hirst

Gagosian is pleased to present Relics and Fly Paintings by Damien Hirst, the second phase of the artist’s yearlong takeover of the Britannia Street gallery, following the inaugural exhibition of Fact Paintings and Fact Sculptures.

For this new iteration, the artist has clad the interior of the gallery in black butterfly-patterned wallpaper that reproduces the kaleidoscopic surface of his painting Valley of Death (2010). With its uniquely immersive atmosphere, the exhibition brings together a number of Hirst’s bodies of work, prompting reflections on themes of darkness and death, the past and the future.

Hirst’s Relics are memento mori: cast in bronze, they depict corpses, skeletons, and mummies in meticulous detail. Juxtaposing morbid realism with fantastical sources of inspiration, these bodies frozen in time emphasize the artist’s deft combinations of art, science, history, and religion. A suite of metallic Meteorites of various sizes continues Hirst’s engagement with the concept of the simulacrum and plays into the long-standing human fascination with outer space. The monumental sculpture The Martyr – Saint Bartholomew (2019) follows the historical tradition of depicting its subject flayed alive as an écorché figure study, balancing biblical devotion with a similar reverence for the human body. While Hirst’s sculpture is a nod to this centuries-old artistic practice, the holy man’s solid stance and gleaming figure are also reminiscent of a robot or a modern anatomical model.

Read more

News

Installation view, Damien Hirst: Relics and Fly Paintings, Gagosian, Britannia Street, London, open from June 5, 2021. Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates

Visit

After Hours
Damien Hirst: Relics and Fly Paintings

Thursday, July 15, 2021, 6–8pm
Gagosian, Britannia Street, London

The Britannia Street gallery will be open after hours to visit Damien Hirst: Relics and Fly Paintings, the second phase of the artist’s yearlong takeover of the space. For this new iteration, the artist has clad the interior of the gallery in black butterfly-patterned wallpaper that reproduces the kaleidoscopic surface of his painting Valley of Death (2010). With its uniquely immersive atmosphere, the exhibition brings together a number of Hirst’s bodies of work, prompting reflections on themes of darkness and death, the past and the future.

Installation view, Damien Hirst: Relics and Fly Paintings, Gagosian, Britannia Street, London, open from June 5, 2021. Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates