Damien Hirst
Hooker's Light
Artist
Damien Hirst
(1965, Bristol), British
Original Title
Hooker's Light
Date2016
Mediumhousehold gloss on canvas
Dimensions170 × 200 cm
Classificationspaintings
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionDamien Hirst is an iconic figure of the international art scene of the 1990s and of postmodern art more broadly. He first caught the attention of the art world through his exhibitions with the art group Young British Artists, which Hirst organized. The group’s debut was the student exhibition Freeze (1988). He belonged to a new generation of artists who fundamentally demystified the role of the artist in the creative process and supported a shift toward the role of a celebrity, as well as the merging of artistry as a profession with curation and entrepreneurship. Hirst’s artistic practice largely focuses on the industrial production of precisely executed copies of objects evocative of the luxury items of prestigious fashion houses. His controversial work spans a wide range of art forms, and the sophisticated titles of his artworks evidence his interest in the dualistic relationalities of art and beauty, religion and science, life and death. The question remains whether these pieces contain traces of personal introspection or a deeper, transcendental dimension, or whether they are simply a critique of fashion and popular interests. During the 1990s, Hirst developed Duchamp’s concept of the readymade and challenged the conventional boundaries of art by presenting dead animals suspended in formaldehyde (The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991; Mother and Child, 1993). These works placed death in a display case, inviting society to consider the boundaries of ethics and animal rights, as well as the fragility and transience of life. His installations have also repeatedly incorporated (initially) living butterflies as symbols of unique beauty. These works thematized the fragility of their corporeality and ephemeral existence. Similar underlying ideas and controversial media attention were tied to his platinum skull covered with 8,000 diamonds (For the Love of God, 2007), which also sparked debate about the exorbitant prices of contemporary art in relation to its actual value. A prominent component of Hirst’s oeuvre is known as Spot Paintings or Pharmaceutical Paintings, which he began creating in 1986, naming such pieces after pharmaceutical drugs or their biochemical and organic elements throughout the following three decades. These works can be understood as a commentary on the pharmaceutical industry, which often disguises harmful drugs as alluring candy. The paintings comprise colourful dots arranged along a grid, set against a white background, and imbued with an aura of sterility and immutable perfection. Although the grid has been a prominent motif throughout the history of art, most frequently associated with minimalist art, Hirst’s work also has close links to the commercial sphere and the pop art tradition of rapidly generated visual imagery. By mixing countless tones of different colours, Hirst has managed to never repeat the colour of a dot in his Spot Paintings. He created the first few paintings himself, using traditional industrial paint; subsequent pieces were made by his assistants. The spacing of individual dots within the same artwork was always unified, with their distances equivalent to the size of the dots themselves. The dots could also only touch the edges of the canvas in pre-defined spots. Another project related to the pharmaceutical industry are Hirst’s display cases inspired by the aesthetics of pharmacies, which represent a distinctive form of still lifes. They were created as a reaction to visiting pharmacies, the interior of which is meant to foster feelings of trust and calmness. Conversely, Hirst’s display cases tend to arouse anxiety: they are metaphors for futility and mortality as well as the vulnerability of the human body, which cannot always be helped by hopeful medical interventions.
The painting Hooker´s Light (2016) is part of the series Colour Space Paintings, which followed Hirst’s iconic Spot Paintings. Contrary to the latter’s rigid grid structure, in these paintings Hirst abandoned such restrictive rules and intentionally opted for joyous colour combinations. These works represent a return to the uninhibited spontaneity of his first two Spot Paintings from 1986, which were more aligned with the legacy of emotional abstract expressionism. Contrary to most of his Spot Paintings, in this series the dots overlap, thus giving the impression of a spontaneous creative process which includes imperfections characteristic of hand-crafted pieces. Simultaneously, however, the dots are all the exact same size, thus suggesting their mechanized production. The title of this piece refers to the experimental jazz artist William Hooker, whose song titles often contained the word “light”, which evokes a tone of positive energy and vital joy. Hence, in this series, Hirst explores the previously rejected notions of the author’s subjectivity and authenticity, as well as authorship itself; in keeping with his usual approach, the message remains ambiguous and polemical.
Damien Hirst (born 1965, Bristol) grew up in Leeds before moving to London in the early 1980s, where he studied at Goldsmiths College from 1986 to 1989. While at Goldsmiths, he curated the iconic student exhibition Freeze, where he also exhibited, and which led to the formation of the Young British Artists (YBAs) art group. Already in 1993, he exhibited at the 45th Venice Biennale and in 1995 he was awarded the Turner Prize. His work featured in the major travelling exhibition Sensations (Royal Academy, London, 1997; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 1998–1999; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, 1999–2000), which showcased Charles Saatchi’s collection and controversially linked art institutions with the art market. Hirst’s work has been presented through many solo exhibitions, such as: For the Love of God, Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, Florence (2010); Damien Hirst: A Retrospective, Tate Modern, London (2012); Relics, Qatar Museum Authority, Gallery Al Riwaq, Doha (2013–2014); Damien Hirst: The Last Supper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2016; Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable, Palazzo Grassi a Punta della Dogana, Venice (2017). His work is also included in a wide range of prestigious museum collections, including: the Museum of Modern Art, New York City; the Art Institute of Chicago; The Broad, Los Angeles; the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; the Museo Jumex, Mexico City; the Tate Modern, London; the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; the Museum Brandhorst, Munich; the Museo d´Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina, Naples; the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo; the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan. Hirst has also authored several books, designed restaurant interiors, and collaborated on musical projects and experimental films.
The painting Hooker´s Light (2016) is part of the series Colour Space Paintings, which followed Hirst’s iconic Spot Paintings. Contrary to the latter’s rigid grid structure, in these paintings Hirst abandoned such restrictive rules and intentionally opted for joyous colour combinations. These works represent a return to the uninhibited spontaneity of his first two Spot Paintings from 1986, which were more aligned with the legacy of emotional abstract expressionism. Contrary to most of his Spot Paintings, in this series the dots overlap, thus giving the impression of a spontaneous creative process which includes imperfections characteristic of hand-crafted pieces. Simultaneously, however, the dots are all the exact same size, thus suggesting their mechanized production. The title of this piece refers to the experimental jazz artist William Hooker, whose song titles often contained the word “light”, which evokes a tone of positive energy and vital joy. Hence, in this series, Hirst explores the previously rejected notions of the author’s subjectivity and authenticity, as well as authorship itself; in keeping with his usual approach, the message remains ambiguous and polemical.
Damien Hirst (born 1965, Bristol) grew up in Leeds before moving to London in the early 1980s, where he studied at Goldsmiths College from 1986 to 1989. While at Goldsmiths, he curated the iconic student exhibition Freeze, where he also exhibited, and which led to the formation of the Young British Artists (YBAs) art group. Already in 1993, he exhibited at the 45th Venice Biennale and in 1995 he was awarded the Turner Prize. His work featured in the major travelling exhibition Sensations (Royal Academy, London, 1997; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 1998–1999; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, 1999–2000), which showcased Charles Saatchi’s collection and controversially linked art institutions with the art market. Hirst’s work has been presented through many solo exhibitions, such as: For the Love of God, Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, Florence (2010); Damien Hirst: A Retrospective, Tate Modern, London (2012); Relics, Qatar Museum Authority, Gallery Al Riwaq, Doha (2013–2014); Damien Hirst: The Last Supper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2016; Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable, Palazzo Grassi a Punta della Dogana, Venice (2017). His work is also included in a wide range of prestigious museum collections, including: the Museum of Modern Art, New York City; the Art Institute of Chicago; The Broad, Los Angeles; the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; the Museo Jumex, Mexico City; the Tate Modern, London; the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; the Museum Brandhorst, Munich; the Museo d´Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina, Naples; the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo; the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan. Hirst has also authored several books, designed restaurant interiors, and collaborated on musical projects and experimental films.
