Damien Steven Hirst (born 7 June 1965)
The life cycle 1 2 4 8 7 5
Important years of life
1978 7
1985 5
1990 1
1991 2
1993 4
1997 8
2005 7
2012 5
2017 1
2018 2
2020 4
2024 8
2032 7
2039 5
In 1990 Hirst, along with his friend Carl Freedman and Billee Sellman, curated two enterprising “warehouse” shows, Modern Medicine and Gambler, in a Bermondsey former Peek Freans biscuit factory they designated “Building One”. Saatchi arrived at the second show in a green Rolls Royce and, according to Freedman, stood open-mouthed with astonishment in front of (and then bought) Hirst’s first major “animal” installation, A Thousand Years, consisting of a large glass case containing maggots and flies feeding on a rotting cow’s head. They also staged Michael Landy’s Market. At this time, Hirst said, “I can’t wait to get into a position to make really bad art and get away with it. At the moment if I did certain things people would look at it, consider it and then say ‘f off’. But after a while you can get away with things.”…
In 1991 his first solo exhibition, organised by Tamara Chodzko – Dial, In and Out of Love, was held in an unused shop on Woodstock Street in central London;[citation needed] he also had solo exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and the Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery in Paris…
In 1991, Charles Saatchi had offered to fund whatever artwork Hirst wanted to make, and the result was showcased in 1992 in the first Young British Artists exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in North London…
Hirst’s first major international presentation was in the Venice Biennale in 1993 with the work, Mother and Child Divided, a cow and a calf cut into sections and exhibited in a series of separate vitrines…
In 1997 the Sensation exhibition opened at the Royal Academy in London. A Thousand Years and other works by Hirst were included, but the main controversy occurred over other artists’ works….
In 1997, his autobiography and art book, I Want To Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now, was published…
Between 1992 and 2012, Hirst lived with his Californian girlfriend, Maia Norman, by whom he has three sons: Connor Ojala, (born 1995, Kensington and Chelsea, London), Cassius Atticus (born 2000, North Devon) and Cyrus Joe (born 2005, Westminster, London)
Hirst’s representation of the British Union Flag formed the arena centrepiece for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London.
In March 2012, he outlined his plans to open a gallery in Vauxhall, London specifically designed to exhibit his personal collection, which includes five pieces by Francis Bacon…
Hirst’s 2012 retrospective at the Tate Gallery, while setting records for attendance, also received many complaints. “Members of the public wrote to the state-funded gallery accusing it of wasting taxpayers’ money by showcasing art that was ‘repetitive’, ‘meaningless’ and ‘almost universally awful’
Charles Saatchi 1 2 4 8 7 5 Damien Hirst