Instagram of the Week:: Spot Paintings by Damien Hirst

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the PBS Kids annual meeting in Miami as part of their Mom Blogger Ambassador Program.  It was a great experience and I loved to meet the people who are responsible for the great PBS Kids programs my daughter enjoys.  The hotel we stayed in had this painting in the hallway and it literally stopped me in my tracks.  Some of you might know I am obsessed with polka dots (I named my company Polka Dots Publishing) and I fell in love with this huge (42 x 42) art piece immediately.  For me, polka dots are happy – and they immediately tap into that same feeling I get when I first walk through the gates at Disneyland – the feeling of joy and hope.

I joked on my Facebook page about whether the hotel staff would notice if I walked out with this piece!  Probably!  I took a picture of the artist’s name and set about finding out who painted this piece.  One of my favorite things to do when I have a chance is to check out garage and estate sales for art.  Most of my house is filled with artwork  I have found at these sales.  One of the best parts of the treasure-hunting experience is researching the artist.  I did a Google search of the artist, Damien Hirst, and found out that he is internationally renowned and this piece is part of his Spot Paintings series.

Damien Hirst was born in 1965 and is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector.  He is member of the group known as the Young British Artists (or YBAs), who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain’s richest living artist.

Damien Hirst:

Here is an excerpt from Damien Hirst website explaining more about the Spot Paintings he created from 1986-2011.

The spot paintings are one of Hirst’s most important series. Of their conception, he explains: “To create that structure, to do those colours, and do nothing. I suddenly got what I wanted. It was just a way of pinning down the joy of colour.” Spanning 25 years, the works in the worldwide Gagosian show varied in size from a 1 x ½ inch canvas depicting half a spot to the 60-inch four-spot painting ‘Erbium Oxide’ (1996).

Included were approximately 25 paintings created personally by Hirst before he began to employ gallery assistants. One of which was his earliest spot painting on board (1986), originally shown at his first solo show whilst in his second year at Goldsmiths, ‘Constructions and Sculptures’ (1988).

From their inception in 1986, Hirst’s intention was always to create a collective installation of spot paintings. As he explained of the concept in 2000: “It’s something I’ve been excited about for years. Ever since I first started making them. it’s an assault on your senses. They grab hold of you and give you a good shaking. As adults, we’re not used to it. It’s an amazing fact that all objects leap beyond their own dimension.” (Source: https://www.damienhirst.com/exhibitions/solo/2012/complete-spot-paintings)

I have to agree that this piece really stopped me in my tracks and I was immediately drawn into the painting.  It might have been the colors, the fact that they were polka dots (love them!) or the way it was presented.   Now if I can just win the lottery so I can purchase one…

Here is an interview with Damien where he talks about the inspiration and intention of his Spot Paintings: https://www.nowness.com/day/2012/1/18?ecid=ema1629&CID

References:

Damien Hirst website: https://www.damienhirst.com/exhibitions/solo/2012/complete-spot-paintings

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Hirst