{"id":10831,"date":"2021-01-27T17:11:17","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T17:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it\/en\/?post_type=exhibition&p=10831"},"modified":"2026-03-16T13:27:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:27:04","slug":"damien-hirst","status":"publish","type":"exhibition","link":"https:\/\/galleriaborghese.cultura.gov.it\/en\/exhibition\/damien-hirst\/","title":{"rendered":"DAMIEN HIRST – ARCHAEOLOGY NOW"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Tuesday 8 June, Galleria Borghese opened a new exhibition by Damien\u00a0Hirst, curated by Anna Coliva and Mario\u00a0Codognato.\u00a0<\/span>Over 80 works from\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0<\/b>Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable\u00a0<\/i><\/b>series<\/b>\u00a0are displayed\u00a0<\/span>throughout the museum<\/b>\u00a0alongside ancient masterpieces. The exhibition features both monumental and small scale sculptures made from materials such as bronze, Carrara marble and malachite.\u00a0<\/span>Hirst\u2019s\u00a0<\/b>Colour Space<\/i><\/b>\u00a0paintings, exhibited for the first time in Italy<\/b>, are also presented together with the permanent collection, while\u00a0<\/span>his colossal sculpture,\u00a0<\/b>Hydra and Kali<\/i><\/b>,<\/b>\u00a0is displayed outdoors in the\u00a0<\/span>Giardino\u00a0Segreto\u00a0of the\u00a0Uccelliera<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project is made possible thanks to the\u00a0<\/span>generous support of Prada<\/b>, which investigates areas of research such as art, architecture, philosophy and literature with the aim of developing innovative languages and projects, in a continuous dialogue with the broader scenarios of contemporaneity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hirst\u2019s\u00a0works\u00a0are displayed throughout Galleria Borghese, a museum with a superb collection of masterpieces of classical Roman sculpture, Italian paintings of the Renaissance and the 17th century, and the most important works of Bernini and Canova. At the same time \u2013 and this is its uniqueness \u2013 it is a place with rich, ornate interiors of marble, stuccos and mosaics. The works by\u00a0Hirst\u00a0complement the range of inventions and techniques seen in the museum\u2019s collection, showcasing the artist\u2019s incredible ability to combine concepts and narratives with the exceptional skills needed to create these complex works, which has been a constant of this institution.<\/span><\/p>\n

This project stems from one of\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0most original projects of the last twenty years:\u00a0<\/span>Treasures\u00a0from the\u00a0Wreck\u00a0of the\u00a0Unbelievable,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>which was exhibited for the first time in 2017 in Venice at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della\u00a0Dogana. Here, he worked with a variety of materials \u2013 natural, technological, and precious \u2013 with exceptional technique and skill. Made from marble, bronze, coral, rock crystal, and semi-precious stones, and inserted among the masterpieces of the Galleria\u2019s collection, these works celebrate the desire for variety held by the museum\u2019s founder, Cardinal\u00a0Scipione\u00a0Borghese. His fantasy had been to go beyond categories, not only among the arts, but also those of fiction and reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition also presents a group of paintings from\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a02016 series titled\u00a0<\/span>Colour Space<\/i><\/b>,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>which constitutes both a development of his\u00a0<\/span>Spot\u00a0Paintings\u00a0<\/span><\/i>and a retrospection of the first work of that series, in which the spots were painted freely.\u00a0<\/span>Colour Space<\/span><\/i>\u00a0shows the infiltration, in\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0words, of \u201chuman elements\u201d. These works are like \u201ccells under a microscope\u201d. They refute the idea of a unified image; they float in space, bumping into and merging with one another, with a sense of movement that contradicts the stasis of the canvas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Damien\u00a0Hirst<\/b>\u00a0was born in 1965 in Bristol, grew up in Leeds, and from 1986 to 1989 studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in London. In 1988 he conceived and curated the group exhibition\u00a0<\/span>Freeze<\/span><\/i>, which became a springboard not only for\u00a0Hirst, but for an entire generation of young British artists. Since the late 1980s,\u00a0Hirst\u00a0has created installations, sculptures, paintings, and drawings that explore the complex relationships between art, beauty, religion, science, life, and death. Through work that includes the iconic shark in formaldehyde,\u00a0<\/span>The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(1991) and\u00a0<\/span>For the Love of God<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(2007), a platinum cast of a skull set with 8,601 flawless\u00a0pav\u00e9-set diamonds, he investigates and challenges contemporary belief systems, and dissects the uncertainties at the heart of human experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 1987, over 90 solo Damien\u00a0Hirst\u00a0exhibitions have taken place worldwide, and he has been included in over 300 group shows. In 2012, Tate Modern, London presented a major retrospective survey of\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0work in conjunction with the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0other solo exhibitions include Qatar Museums Authority, ALRIWAQ Doha (2013\u20132014); Palazzo\u00a0Vecchio, Florence (2010); Oceanographic Museum, Monaco (2010); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2008);\u00a0Astrup\u00a0Fearnley\u00a0Museet\u00a0f\u00fcr\u00a0Moderne\u00a0Kunst, Oslo (2005);\u00a0Museo\u00a0Archeologico\u00a0Nazionale, Naples (2004); Palazzo Grassi and Punta della\u00a0Dogana, Pinault Collection, Venice (2017), amongst others. In 1995\u00a0Hirst\u00a0won the Turner\u00a0Prize. He lives and works in London, Devon, and Gloucestershire.<\/span><\/p>\n

Published by\u00a0Marsilio\u00a0in Italian and English, the exhibition\u00a0<\/span>catalogue<\/b>\u00a0contains critical essays by Anna Coliva, Mario\u00a0Codognato, and Geraldine Leardi, as well as photos of the exhibition.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tPress release\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday 8 June, Galleria Borghese opened a new exhibition by Damien\u00a0Hirst, curated by Anna Coliva and Mario\u00a0Codognato.\u00a0Over 80 works from\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable\u00a0series\u00a0are displayed\u00a0throughout the museum\u00a0alongside ancient masterpieces. The exhibition features both monumental and small scale sculptures made from materials such as bronze, Carrara marble and malachite.\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0Colour Space\u00a0paintings, exhibited for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11028,"menu_order":25,"template":"","categories":[14],"class_list":["post-10831","exhibition","type-exhibition","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-passate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDAMIEN HIRST - ARCHAEOLOGY NOW - Galleria Borghese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/galleriaborghese.cultura.gov.it\/en\/exhibition\/damien-hirst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DAMIEN HIRST - ARCHAEOLOGY NOW - Galleria Borghese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Tuesday 8 June, Galleria Borghese opened a new exhibition by Damien\u00a0Hirst, curated by Anna Coliva and Mario\u00a0Codognato.\u00a0Over 80 works from\u00a0Hirst\u2019s\u00a0Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable\u00a0series\u00a0are displayed\u00a0throughout the museum\u00a0alongside ancient masterpieces. 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