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Medium: Screenprint
Edition size: 75
Year: 2009
Size: H 70cm x W 92cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
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June 2012 | Van Ham Fine Art Auctions | Germany |
Studio Skull is a signed coloured serigraphy and diamond dust on Somerset paper produced by renowned contemporary artist, Damien Hirst. Made in 2009, the work shows a photographed human skull. Positioned in the centre of the composition and set against a plain backdrop, the skull looks directly at the viewer. Hirst splatters the skull with blue and green paint, resonating with the technique Hirst uses in his iconic spin paintings.
Death is a central theme in this print and is a subject that has long fascinated the artist. Since the late 1980’s, Hirst has used various artistic practices, from installation to sculpture, painting and drawing to explore the relationship between art, life and death. Hirst explains, “art’s about life and it can’t really be about anything else … there isn’t anything else.” When exploring questions of life, the subject of death inevitably also arises.
The skull in this print functions as a memento mori. Coming from the Latin, which literally translates as “remember that you [have to] die.”A memento mori is a visual reminder of the inevitability of death. By making a skull into art, Hirst appears to celebrate life in the face of death, encouraging the viewer not to fear the inevitable end of life.
Damien Hirst, born in Bristol in 1965, is often hailed the enfant terrible of the contemporary art world. His provocative works challenge conventions and his conceptual brilliance spans installations, paintings, and sculptures, often exploring themes of mortality and the human experience. As a leading figure of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement in the late '80s, Hirst's work has dominated the British art scene for decades and has become renowned for being laced with controversy, thus shaping the dialogue of modern art.