LONDON.- Work on Beautiful Inside My Head Forever – a major auction of new works by Damien Hirst - has progressed and the full scope of this ground-breaking auction can now be revealed.
Including a whole new body of work that covers the complete range of Hirst’s output and more, the auction will run over two days, commencing with an Evening Sale on Monday, 15 September, and continuing throughout the following day (Tuesday, 16 September) with a morning and afternoon session. The two day sale, which will include 223 lots, is expected to realise a sum in excess of £65 million. Estimates will range from around £15,000-20,000 (for a range of new drawings) up to the £8,000,000-12,000,000 estimate attached to The Golden Calf –the monumental and arresting centre-piece of the sale. Among the works to be offered will be new and exciting variations on many of the key themes that have defined Hirst’s work to date.
Damien Hirst said: “After the success of the Pharmacy auction, I always felt I would like to do another auction. It’s a very democratic way to sell art and it feels like a natural evolution for contemporary art. Although there is risk involved, I embrace the challenge of selling my work in this way. I never want to stop working with my galleries. This is different. The world’s changing, ultimately I need to see where this road leads.”
Formaldehyde ormaldehyde sculptures which have never been seen in public before:
The Golden Calf (lot 13, Evening Sale)
calf, 18 carat gold, glass, goldplated steel, silicone and
formaldehyde solution with Carrara marble plinth
398.9 by 350.5 by 167.6cm
executed in 2008
£ 8,000,000-12,000,000
€ 10,120,000-15,180,000
US$ 15,800,000-23,690,000
The Kingdom (lot 5, Evening sale)
tiger shark, glass, steel, silicone and formaldehyde
solution with steel plinth
214 by 383.6 by 141.8cm.
executed in 2008
£ 4,000,000 - 6,000,000
€ 5,060,000-7,590,000
US$ 7,900,000-11,850,000
The Dream (lot 110, Morning Sale)
foal, glass, steel, resin, silicone and formaldehyde solution
231 by 332.6 by 138.1cm.
executed in 2008
£ 2,000,000-3,000,000
€ 2,530,000-3,800,000
US$ 3,950,000-5,930,000
The Incredible Journey (lot 211, Afternoon Sale)
zebra, glass, steel, silicone, and formaldehyde solution
208.6 by 322.5 by 108.8cm
executed in 2008
£ 2,000,000-3,000,000
€ 2,530,000-3,800,000
US$ 3,950,000-5,930,000
Gold
Gold features strongly in the sale, for which Hirst has produced a glittering range of new works:
Aurothioglucose (lot 7, Evening Sale)
household gloss and enamel
paint on canvas
172.7 by 274.3cm.
executed in 2008
£ 400,000-600,000
€ 510,000-760,000
US$ 790,000-1,190,000
Memories of / Moments With You
(lot 11, Evening Sale)
gold-plated steel and glass with
manufactured diamonds, diptych
91 by 137.2 by 10cm.;
executed in 2008
£800,000-1,200,000
€ 1,020,000-1,520,000
US$ 1,580,000-2,370,000
Unknown Pleasures (lot 206, Afternoon Sale)
engraved with signature, title and date 2008 on the reverse
glass and gold-plated steel with manufactured diamonds
91 by 137.2 by 10cm.
35 7/8 by 54 by 4in.
£400,000-600,000
€ 510,000-760,000
US$ 790,000-1,190,000
The Rose Window, Durham Cathedral
(lot 27, Evening Sale)
butterflies and metallic paint
on canvas in artist’s frame
diameter: 270cm.
executed in 2008
£700,000-900,000
€ 890,000-1,140,000
US$ 1,390,000-1,780,000
A new range of spin paintings, incorporating skulls
Beautiful Helios Hysteria Intense Painting
(with Extra Inner Beauty) (lot 227, Afternoon Sale)
household gloss on canvas
diameter: 45.7cm.
executed in 2008
£ 60,000-80,000
€ 76,000-102,000
US$ 119,000-158,000
The Day Sale
With some 160 or so works to be offered in the course of the morning and afternoon sessions, the Day Sale will bring to the market a wealth of new works – across a wide range of estimates – embracing everything from spot paintings and drawings to butterfly glosses and grids, and more:
Psalm 28: Ad te, Domine. (lot 102, Day Sale)
signed, inscribed 28th Psalm,
dated 2008 and affixed with
Psalm text on the backing
board
butterflies and household
gloss on canvas
45.7 by 45.7cm.
£ 60,000-80,000
€ 76,000-102,000
US$ 119,000-158,000
1,6 – Hexanediamine (lot 107, Day Sale)
coloured pencil on paper
123.9 by 123.9cm.
executed in 2008
£ 30,000-40,000
€ 38,000-51,000
US$ 59,500-79,000
The Charity Element
Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the celebrated Freeze exhibition curated by Hirst in London, which launched the careers of Hirst and his contemporaries, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever affirms Hirst’s position as a boundary breaker and as an artist who has never worked in the traditional vein. At the same time, the sale re-affirms Hirst’s continued commitment to the support of charitable causes.
In February this year, Hirst joined forces with singer Bono to spearhead the (RED) auction - a recordbreaking sale held at Sotheby’s in New York, whose purpose was to raise money for the United Nations Foundation to support HIV/AIDS relief programs in Africa, conducted by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The sale, which included works donated by artists such as Anish Kapoor, Marc Quinn, Marc Newson, Keith Tyson, Takashi Murakami and Banksy, realised $42.58 million – making it the most successful charity auction of contemporary art ever staged. Continuing that tradition, September’s sale will include four works to be sold to benefit charities especially designated by Hirst. They are:
• Beautiful Love Demelza Painting with Beautiful Butterflies (lot 30, est: £400,000-600,000) to be sold to benefit Demelza, Hospice Care for Children: http://www.demelzahouse.org/
• Beautiful Love Survival Painting with Beautiful Butterflies (lot 8, est: £400,000-600,000) to be sold to benefit Survival International: http://www.survival-international.org/
• Beautiful Love Strummerville Painting with Beautiful Butterflies (lot 109, est: £400,000-600,000) to be sold to benefit Strummerville – the Joe Strummer foundation for new music – aiming to create new opportunities for aspiring musicians: http://www.strummerville.com/
• Beautiful Love Kids Co Twenty-Five to Ten Painting with Beautiful Butterflies (lot 209, est: £400,000-600,000), to be sold to benefit Kids Company - a charity founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh in 1996 in order to provide practical, emotional
and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children and young people: http://kidsco.org.uk/
Alongside these will be:
Bill with Shark (lot 203, est: £200,000-300,000) – an oil painting, to be sold on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, based on a photograph by Jean Pigozzi, showing Bill Gates looking at shark-in-formaldehyde sculpture by Hirst.
Proceeds from the sale of the work will benefit the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which aims to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world: www.gatesfoundation.org
