Billed as the largest collection of Damien Hirst's work ever exhibited, the show “Requiem” opened at Pinchuk Art Centre last Saturday, April 25th in Kiev, Ukraine. Hirst will be showing his retrospective of over 100 works dating from 1990 to 2008 at steel billionaire Victor Pinchuk's namesake museum including not only the sculptures and installations that he is famous for, but also a collection of oil paintings, most of which have never been exhibited.
The most successful of the so-called “Young British Artists,” Hirst rose to prominence in the 1990s. One of his main themes is the impossibility of accepting mortality, and he is famous for flirting with the topic of death and displaying dead, rotting animals. Last year, he defied skeptics and the global economic downturn and sold his works for close to $200 million at Sotheby's, making it the most expensive auction of works by a single artist.
He says his obsession with death and demise is his way of exploring a subject that most people cannot come to terms with. Some people may like the show, others not, but he hopes they won't quickly forget it. “I hope it will make people think,” he said. “I hope that people coming to the exhibition will go away with more than they came with.”
Above: Damien Hirst with ‘Death Denied', 2008
Damien Hirst with ‘Death explained', 2007 & ‘Death Denied', 2008
Damien Hirst & ‘Death explained', 2007
Death Explained, 2007 & Death Denied, 2008. Glass, steel, shark, acrylic and formadehyde solution
Death Denied, 2008. glass, steel, shark, acrylic and formadehyde solution
Away from the Flock 1994. Glass, steel, lamb and formaldehyde solution
The Promise of Money, 2003. resin, cow hair, sling, chain, hook, blood, Iraqi money and mirror
A Thousand Years, 1990. steel, glass, flies, maggots, MDF, Insect-O-Cutor, cow's head, sugar, water
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 2008 glass, stainless steel, fish, fish skeletons, acrylic, MDF, paint and formaldehyde solution
Where There's a Will, There's a Way, 2007. Stainless steel and glass cabinet with painted resin, plaster and cast metal pills
Aurous Bromide 2008. Enamel paint and household gloss on canvas
Nothing Matters/The Empty Chair, 2008. Oil on canvas. Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain/Silver 2007 silver
Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain 2007. Silver
Resurrection, 1998-2003. glass, paint and human skeleton
Dates and hours:
Show runs through September
Tue-Sun: 12pm-9pm
Cost:
Free
PinchukArtCentre website
1/3-2, “?” Block,
Chervonoarmyska / Baseyna vul.,
Kyiv , Ukraine 01004
tel.: +38 (044) 590/08/58
e-mail: [email protected]
source: boston globe
