‘‘A veil is a barrier, a curtain between two things, something that you can look at and pass through, it’s solid yet invisible and reveals and yet obscures the truth, the thing that we are searching for.’’
—Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst, born June 7, 1965 is a British artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. Hirst’s work has generated enormous controversy for its subject matter. Some of his collections include: encased dead animals in various states of preservation, the incorporation of butterfly wings into stained glass-like images, cabinets filled with pharmaceuticals, and diamond-encrusted skulls. A team of assistants help Hirst carry out his projects; his spot paintings and spin paintings are almost entirely the work of others.
He is the winner of the 1995 Turner Prize, and, as of 2009, the wealthiest artist in history. He rose to fame after the success of two warehouse shows he organized featuring his friends and his own work; at his second show, advertising executive Charles Saatchi purchased his work and began a long mentoring relationship with Hirst. In September 2008, he bypassed his galleries and sold a complete show, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby’s by auction and earned $198 million, breaking the record for a one-artist auction.
Damien Hirst was born in Bristol and grew up in Leeds. His mother encouraged his passion for drawing from a young age. Although he struggled with school throughout his education the one subject that kept him going was art. He worked for two years in construction in London before studying at Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London.
His new series entitled “Veil Paintings” embrace colour incorporating Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism. The ‘Veil Paintings’ layer brushstrokes and bright dabs of heavy impasto, surrounding the viewer with vast fields of colour. Hirst said his paintings filled him with joy and hoped that the viewer would feel it also. Certainly, there was a lot of joy in our classrooms this week!
Students created many colour circles for their own “veil paintings” using brushes and various stamping techniques, being careful however, to leave some “quiet places” to go on their page as well. Take a look at some of these pieces of happiness…
