The Civilisation Paintings
HENI is delighted to present The Civilisation Paintings by Damien Hirst, his latest series of 32 paintings which explore the necessity of hope despite the complexities and challenges of contemporary civilisation.
The paintings are oil on canvas and each artwork is signed and titled by Damien Hirst in oil paint on the verso. The paintings come in two sizes, 16 of the paintings measure 274.3 x 213.4 cm, and 16 measure 198.1 x 152.4 cm.
To coincide with the drop, the paintings will go on show for the first time at Phillips, London. The exhibition, curated by Connor Hirst, is presented by HENI from 5 August to 2 September 2024.
Applications can be made through HENI Primary from 5 August when the exhibition at Phillips commences.
"I'm very excited to present my new Civilisation Paintings at Phillips in London's Berkeley Square in association with HENI. These paintings are about our civilisations today. I wanted them to feel fantastical and chaotic and on the edge of destruction. It's often hard to have hope or romanticise about our current landscape or our civilisations but we must have hope, no matter how dark the world gets. But to distract from the nihilism and the hate, I tried to paint them optimistically, like ice cream."
- Damien Hirst
About The Civilisation Paintings
The Civilisation Paintings is a series of 32 paintings which explore the necessity of hope despite the complexities and challenges of contemporary civilisation, something that Hirst achieves in part through his use of vibrant, optimistic colour. In each work, the artist depicts memories or feelings of cities: evoking the exuberant series The Secret Gardens Paintings – metropolitan areas are set amongst thriving vegetation, forming bright, imagined landscapes.
Realistic elements are contrasted with other elements such as Pointillist techniques and thrown paint. Evoking the themes of chaos and hope at the heart of the series, the artist favours the latter practice for its lack of control, embodying his maxim ‘You just have to believe’. Hirst also overlays the compositions with coloured spots arranged in grids, made using the tops of his paint tubes. These formations, immediately recalling his Spot Paintings, are implemented to evoke the sense of the ordered and engineered elements of cities, which randomly decay and are replaced.
The paintings are oil on canvas and each artwork is signed and titled by Damien Hirst in oil paint on the verso. The paintings come in two sizes, 16 of the paintings measure 274.3 x 213.4 cm, and 16 measure 198.1 x 152.4 cm.
On show at Phillips London
To coincide with the drop, the paintings will go on show for the first time at Phillips this summer. The exhibition, curated by Connor Hirst, is presented by HENI from 5 August to 2 September 2024.
A catalogue of the complete series will be available.
Damien Hirst: The Civilisation Paintings
Preview: Monday 5 August 6pm - 8 pm. All welcome.
Exhibition dates: Monday 5 August – Monday 2 September 2024
Opening hours: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 6pm and Sunday 12pm – 6pm
Location: Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX
