Damien Hirst

DAMIEN HIRST (Bristol, United Kingdom, 1965).
“Cupric Bromide,” from the series 40 Woodcut Spots, 2012.
Color woodcut on Somerset White paper, print no. 52/55.
Signed in pencil and numbered on the reverse.
Edition of 55 prints and 15 artist’s proofs.
Published by The Paragon Press, London.
Measurements: 15.2 × 15.2 cm.

The work belongs to the series *40 Woodcut Spots*, in which Hirst adapts his famous motif of colored circles to the woodcut technique. Four geometric shapes, identical in size but distinct in color, are arranged on a neutral background in a precise and seemingly objective order.

The so-called Spot Paintings, begun in the late 1980s, reflect the artist’s interest in scientific classification systems, mass production, and the psychological associations of color. The title, taken from a chemical compound, reinforces this cold, pharmaceutical appearance, while the handcrafted print introduces subtle variations in texture compared to his more industrially produced surface paintings.

Damien Hirst is a central figure among the Young British Artists. He gained notoriety after organizing the “Freeze” exhibition in 1988 and won the Turner Prize in 1995. In 2012, the Tate Modern in London dedicated a major retrospective to him. His work is part of collections such as the Tate, the MoMA in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.