Spots, Colours and Drugs With Damien Hirst

By Angela McCormack / January 23rd, 2012 in Talks / London / 209 views

Most commonly known as “that rich guy who put a shark in formaldehyde and called it art”, British artist Damien Hirst can easily get passed off as a wealthy smart ass; a novelty. He’s a prolific walking controversy, he has a factory to make his artworks for him, he wears rings on every finger—there’s a lot of ammo against Hirst as an artist. But if you can see past his slurs and his status as a sell out, this interview with Nowness surprisingly sheds some positive, intimate light on the man we love to hate. Getting up close and personal (literally—from this angle we know for sure that those heavy, jeweled rings are probably worth more than my house) with Hirst about his spot series, he becomes more human and passionate about art than you might imagine.

He’s logical and passionate as he dissects his Spot series, in which huge canvases sprawl dots of the exact same size, with not a single colour repeated. They’re rational and expressive works that can mesmerize you unexpectedly—your eyes blur and suddenly negative space becomes just as playful as its surrounding colour; the spots encroach and, dizzingly, seem to follow you.

With a self confessed “Willy Wonka” gimmick—the first person to see all 11 spot series exhibitions around the world will receive a personalised Spot painting by Damien Hirst to keep—you’ll have to be more of a Veruca Salt than a poor Charlie Bucket to snag first place.