Artist Rooms – Damien Hirst, Leeds Art Gallery 15th July to 30th October 2011
Mini Biography
As a school boy Damien Hirst collected dead things, and his carrier bag of corpses (insects, birds, leaves) was never far from his side. He also did work experience at Leeds city morgue. Therefore it’s not difficult to see where some of his inspiration came from. There is undoubtedly a distinct theme of death running through many of the works in this exhibition.
After attending Allerton Grange High School, Leeds he attended Leeds College of Art and Design before daringly exhibiting a 14ft-long shark in formaldehyde at the Young British Artists show in London, sponsored by Charles Saatchi. Three years later, he bagged the Turner Prize. Today his works command some of the highest prices in the art world.
Highlights of the current Leeds exhibition include ‘The Pharmacy Restaurant and Bar’ ,this is a representation of the interior of the Notting Hill restaurant that Hirst co-owned in the late Nineties until 2003. Most notable is the molecule motif used throughout from the chair backs to menu covers and the wall paper combining references from the New Testament with images of pharmaceuticals in miniature. It is very cleverly done. Hirst designed the whole of the actual restaurant interior. Also ‘Mantra’ , butterflies and glass paint on canvas; a visually stunning wheel of colour comprising butterflies of all shapes, sizes and hues. This is particularly effective from a distance and ‘Away From The Flock, the famous sheep in formaldehyde and indeed the creature has been well preserved.
