Printer: Fondation Cartier

Dimensions: 80 × 60 cm

Condition: Very good 

Frame: Oak frame

Description: Poster 5 - This is a striking singular poster that was produced to mark Damien Hirst’s Cherry Blossoms exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in Paris in 2021 – his first solo exhibition in France.

The Cherry Blossoms series marks a real shift in Damien Hirst’s work. For years, he was best known for the pieces that made him one of the most talked-about artists of his generation – the formaldehyde animals, medicine cabinets and spot paintings. Then, almost unexpectedly, he went back to painting. Between 2018 and 2020, he completed more than a hundred Cherry Blossoms canvases entirely by hand, producing a body of work that is looser, more colourful and far more painterly than many people had come to expect. It reminded both critics and collectors that, alongside the conceptual artist, Hirst has always been a remarkably accomplished painter.

Thick layers of paint are built up with energetic brushstrokes, drips and splashes, creating compositions that feel almost abstract at close quarters before resolving into flowering trees from a distance. Hirst has spoken of his admiration for artists including Monet, Bonnard, Van Gogh and Jackson Pollock, and echoes of each can be found in these joyful, richly textured works.

Each of these official exhibition posters features a different painting from the series. Rather than producing a single promotional image, the Fondation Cartier created six individual designs, making the complete set particularly appealing. Framed together, they form a cohesive installation that captures the energy and colour of one of the most unexpected and painterly chapters in Damien Hirst’s career.

They are a wonderful reminder that, behind the artist best known for challenging ideas about life and death, there has always been a painter fascinated by beauty, colour and the simple pleasure of looking.

Artist: Damien Hirst