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“Empresses: H10-3 Theodora” by Damien Hirst, a contemporary creator part of a 1990s wave of young British artists, known as the Y.B.A.’s. The print showcases Hirst’s signature use of butterflies to create a kaleidoscope-like effect. The viewer is able to grasp a sense of movement and transformation, achieved to reflect the characteristics of Theodora, a Byzantine empress by marriage to emperor Justinian. From humble origins, she rose to prominence with her cunning beauty and intelligence, using her power to influence religious and social policies. She was even one of the first leaders to recognize the rights of women. This work is part of Hirst’s Empress Series, which includes prints named after influential female rulers: Wu Zetian, Nūr Jahān, Theodora, Suiko, and Taytu Betul. “I just made these 5 mega red glitter prints! I thought the idea was good but seeing them now, real, they feel like they are unlocking the unfathomable mysteries of the universe. (…) They feel powerful and important. I called them “The Empresses” and named them after five famous female rulers.” Damien Hirst. The laminated Giclée prints are on aluminum composite and screenprinted with glitter. The piece measures 39.25 in. (100 cm) tall and 39.25 in. (100 cm) wide.
To see more of Hirst’s work and learn more about Taglialatella Galleries, visit:
https://www.taglialatellagalleries.com/artists/damien-hirst/slideshow?view=multiple-sliders
Damien Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965. He studied at Goldsmiths College in London and first came to public attention in 1988 when he conceived and curated “Freeze,” an exhibition of his work and that of his friends and fellow students at Goldsmiths. In the near quarter century since that pivotal show, Hirst has become one of the most prominent artists of his generation. Many of his works are widely recognized, from the shark suspended in formaldehyde, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991) and his spot, spin and butterfly paintings, through to later works such as the diamond skull For the Love of God (2007). Of the latter, the art historian Rudi Fuchs has said, “The skull is out of this world, celestial almost. At the same time it represents death as something infinitely more relentless. Compared to the tearful sadness of a vanitas scene, the diamond skull is glory itself.”
Throughout his work, Hirst takes a direct and challenging approach to ideas about existence. His work calls into question our awareness and convictions about the boundaries that separate desire and fear, life and death, reason and faith, love and hate. Hirst uses the tools and iconography of science and religion, creating sculptures and paintings whose beauty and intensity offer the viewer insight into art that transcends our familiar understanding of those domains. “There [are] four important things in life: religion, love, art and science,” the artist has said. “At their best, they’re all just tools to help you find a path through the darkness. None of them really work that well, but they help. Of them all, science seems to be the one right now. Like religion, it provides the glimmer of hope that maybe it will be all right in the end…”
