British artist Damien Hirst is the quintessential “bad-boy” artist of our time, and reputedly the wealthiest artist alive.  He skyrocketed to world fame with groundbreaking sculptures of dead animals suspended in glass vats of formaldehyde, including an entire shark (now owned by NYC’s Museum of Modern Art) and segmented sections of a cow.  Later on, he created a diamond-encrusted human skull for $100 million – the most expensive piece of art EVER sold by a living artist – to a Japanese buyer.  Hirst’s latest exhibit that opened two weeks ago – of abstract paintings created over the past 25 years – is being called by some critics his most audacious yet.  Naturally, we’re going to be visiting this show, among others, on my next Upper East Side gallery tour on Sat. Feb. 4.  The critics have been either admiring it or trashing it.  No one is on the fence on this one!

What’s audacious about Damien Hirst’s current show is that it’s being shown concurrently in ELEVEN major art galleries in 8 different countries.  This is a stunt unlike any that I’ve ever heard in the art world.  The pieces are selling in the range of $600,000 to over $1,000,000 each.

One thing of special note about the works we’ll see in the particular Upper East Side gallery is the inclusion of the very first of these paintings, completed in 1986, worth probably tens of millions of dollars (and not for sale).  None of the other 10 galleries across the globe showing Hirst’s exhibit can make the same claim.  We’ll get to see a fascinating contrast between that seminal work and pieces that were completed just weeks ago (and most certainly are for sale).

One other exhibit worth mentioning that we’ll visit that same day is a 12-minute state-of-the-art computer animation that a NY Times reviewer called “jarring,” “perturbing,” and “a perfect balance of seduction and subversion.”  I saw this show before the Times review came out, and I was struck by how controversial it was, as it depicts a particular cultural group, of which many New Yorkers are members, in what I would call an offensively stereotypical way.  Even more interesting is that the artist himself is also a member of that group.  I can’t imagine a U.S. museum buying this animation, as the outcry that would result would tangle it in a public relations nightmare for years to come.  And yet the Times reviewer was very favorable about it.  As was I: the minute I saw it, I knew I would include it on Saturday’s tour.  I like controversy.  It adds to the interest.

These are just 2 of 7 exhibits we’ll visit, in some of the city’s most venerated galleries.  Come see with your own eyes what the fuss is all about.

Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D.
Founder and Director
New York GalleryTours