From the Treasures of Rome to the Cherry Trees of Paris: the summer of Damien Hirst

After the (to say the least) magnificent exhibition of 2017 in Venice, numerous works from the series “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” have come to populate the rooms of Galleria Borghese in Rome under the name of “Archeology Now”, and will remain there until November 2021.

Among the pieces of the eclectic collection born from the passion of Scipione Borghese, the remarkable works made with the most disparate materials have stood out for a few days, which almost seem to perfectly respond to the richness of the rooms and existing heritage.

 

Damien Hirst: Archeology Now, Galleri Borghese – Courtesy Artslife

 

The event was born from an idea of ​​Anna Coliva, former director of the Gallery who took care of curating the exhibition together with Mario Codognato, perhaps just when she admired the pieces exhibited in the Venetian capital: “They struck me because they were made in hand, the artistic returns to contemporary art and Hirst thus goes beyond the conceptual ”.

From the most modest sculptures (if we can define them in this way) to the most monumental ones such as Hydra and Kali, from the most precious materials such as Carrara marble to bronzes, other more strictly pictorial works by the artist are also exhibited, from the “Color Space” series.

 

Damien Hirst: Archeology Now, Galleri Borghese – Courtesy Living Corriere

 

But Hirst’s gaudy paintings are also arriving in Paris: for its first museum exhibition in France, the Cartier Foundation hosts the “Cherry Blossoms”, canvases that want to recall landscape painting with obvious references to Impressionism and Pointillism, but also to gestures of Action Painting.

The works “envelop the viewer in a vast floral landscape that moves between figuration and abstraction”, as stated by the institution itself. They are the result of several works, in which Hirst often worked on several canvases together and then went back to complete them.

 

Damien Hirst: Cherry Blossoms – Courtesy Fondation Cartier

 

The conclusion officially takes place in 2020, after the first pandemic period: the complete work includes 107 large-format canvases but single uniforms, diptychs, triptychs, etc.
Thanks to the selection of Hervé Chandès, General Manager, 30 of these works will then be exhibited from 6 July between the transparencies and fading of the Foundation building.