Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings, 1986–2011
This book was published on the occasion of Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings 1986–2011, a single exhibition held simultaneously at eleven Gagosian gallery locations worldwide that brought together more than three hundred of Hirst’s Spot paintings.
Beginning with the first Spot painting created in 1986, Hirst established the essential characteristics of what was to become his well-known series: hand-painted colored circles arranged in a grid against a light background. As the series evolved, so too did the guidelines. The artist ensured that each spot was painted with household gloss on canvas, and that the gaps between the spots were the same width as the spots in order to create what he has called the “harmony of where color can exist on its own, interacting with other colors, in a perfect format.” There are approximately 1,500 Spot paintings, from monumental canvases where no single color is ever repeated, to the most recent works, some of which comprise spots just 1 millimeter in diameter.
This comprehensive volume features every Spot painting Hirst produced between 1986 and 2011, with over 99 percent of the works illustrated. The book is organized chronologically by year, and by classifications within each year. It features essays by Ann Temkin, Michael Bracewell, and Robert Pincus-Witten; a conversation between Hirst, Ed Ruscha, and John Baldessari; and a text by Hirst. Installation photography from the eleven galleries is also included, alongside a section of miscellaneous Spot works, such as the Spot Tate Boat and Spot Yamaha drum kit.
Publisher: Other Criteria and Gagosian
Publication date: 2013
Contributors: John Baldessari, Michael Bracewell, Damien Hirst, Robert Pincus-Witten, Ed Ruscha, Ann Temkin
Designer: Jason Beard
Printer: MM Artbook Printing & Repro, Bettembourg, Luxembourg
Format: Hardcover in slipcase
Dimensions: 9 1/4 × 11 3/8 inches (24.1 × 30.1 cm)
Pages: 1,074
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-906967-48-2
