Awareness 7: Damien Hirst

When I began learning art history, I had heard of Damien Hirst but recently I found his instagram and now after getting a chance to look through all of his artworks on his website I'm finding a new favorite artist. Hirst has created so many works it's hard to look through all of them in one sitting. Scrolling through his website, there are obvious theme changes as he changes medium and style. For instance, in the butterfly paintings his titles all relate to love, in his crystal skulls he titles them "For Heaven's Sake" and "For the Love of God", and his Formaldehyde sculptures all seem to be dealing with existentialism. He has created so much. And in so many different styles, that it's no wonder it is so hard to be original nowadays. His most recent collection of "veil" paintings consist of different colored spots, but in my opinion they do not compare to the depth and complexity of his past pieces. Of all his different collections, my favorites seem to be those belonging to mental escapology, the Last Supper, Trinity Cabinets, his Installations and his Formaldehyde art. But my favorite part of Hirst's work is by far the titles. Paired with the subjects he presents, the titles offer a humorous side to otherwise serious concepts. 
Hirst has work exhibited around the world, and the Asthmatic Escaped II is even on exhibit in the Hirschhorn. His "after beautiful" paintings remind me of Francis Bacon, of which I watched a documentary and then was reminded of who Damien Hirst was. It makes sense that the painting/drawing styles would be the same seeing as how they were friends and Hirst took his inspiration from Bacon. The piece below is one of the many that I found interesting on his website. After learning of Bacon, the connection between this piece and Bacon's "Painting 1946" is clear.
Seeing as how we are studying art history and will begin our sculpture unit in class soon, Hirst is a good source of inspiration. As I have written above, my reaction is rather to Hirst's work as a whole for now, and I would like to continue looking to his art in the future.

School: The Archaeology of Lost Desires, Comprehending Infinity and the Search for Knowledge, 2007

​http://damienhirst.com/