Full Stop To Spots?

With the release of Damien Hirst's catalogue raisonné The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, my latest blog entry for Ohh Deer poses the question: could this be a full stop to spots? 

Charting the artist's first expression of his now iconic series in his art school days at Goldsmiths, London through to the unprecedented global exhibition held by Gagosion Gallery in 2011, which the catalogues takes its name, the spot-aesthetic has emblazoned over 1000 artworks across nearly three decades. 

The 929-page full colour tome - published by Other Criteria in conjunction with Gagosian Gallery - documents one of the most prolific and recognisable visual images from the late-twentieth century that has experienced phenomenal mileage beyond the white cube walls, appreciated by the worlds of design, fashion and luxury. The publication looks at the significance spot paintings have had on popular culture, transcending accessibility with a host of brand collaborations from Becks to Manolo Blahnik.

The spot-aesthetic has by no means lost its virility. Since 2011 we have seen yet more demand for the systematic spots in addition to Hirst's other signature styles of colour, carats and chemicals showcased in the celebrated retrospective at Tate Modern, London in 2012 and subsequently in the largest survey of the artist's career at ALRIWAQ, Qatar Museums Authority in Doha.

The launch of such a comprehensive publication alludes to the end of what is arguably one of Damien Hirst's most important veins of investigation. Is the controversy, or even empowerment, of ending a chapter of his practice too irresistible for the artist who relishes on throwing art world convention into a spin?

Read my full article Full Stop To Spots? and view further images from ‘The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011’ at the Ohh Deer blog.

Follow @JMVELARDI for more on Arts, Culture & Lifestyle.

Images courtesy of Other Criteria

Fine Dining

Jeff Koons - Banality Series

Like many luxury brands celebrating a landmark anniversary, art collaboration remains an attractive currency that has evolved into somewhat of a default go-to within the walls of luxury PR in recent years. The benefits of art association are win-win for both brand and customer, and let’s not forget the artist whose portfolio as a result is able to span accessibility no matter how many zeros one has in their bank account.

France’s premier porcelain manufacturer Bernardaud marks their 150th Anniversary this year by commissioning an eclectic group of international creatives to design a collection of plates for L’Art de la Table. The roster of French and international artists, filmmakers and photographers include: Jean-Michel Alberola, Marco Brambilla, Sophie Calle, Fassianos, Jeff Koons, Michael Lin, David Lynch, Marlène Mocquet, Nabil Nahas, Prune Nourry & JR and Sarkis.

Fassianos - Alexandre and Bucephale

Art’s exploration into homewares is not entirely unfamiliar with the likes of Damien Hirst’s publishing company and commercial platform, Other Criteria, already producing espresso cups by the artist (Money Maker, April 2012) and other products designed by his contemporaries such as Mat Collishaw, Eduardo Sarabia and Cindy Sherman (Tea With Cindy, April 2010). What is hanging on the white cube walls of a gallery is now available to enjoy on the white crisp linen of one’s dinner table. What better after-dinner surprise could there be once guests clean up their haute cuisine to find haute art on their plate and fundamentally, the oh-so haute taste of their host? French artist Sophie Colle admits,

“I enjoy eating out of other people’s plates because I always get the impression that what they have is better.”

 Prune Nourry & JR - I'm Not In My Plate

For the luxury house’s anniversary, Koons delves deep into his archives of kitsch and sources imagery from his controversial Banality series - first released as sculptures made from porcelain in 1988 - to speak of the material’s historic journey; from it’s empirical status through to its democratisation for the masses. Photographer and graffiti artist JR works with emerging artist Prune Nourry on black and white images of hands – "a man's most essential tool" – on the front and reverse of the plate that results in a contemporary illusion ideal for dinner talk. Calle creates a new work titled Le Porc (The Pig) for a six-piece set that depicts a narrative across the collection. Calle explains,

“What I really like about these plates is creating a sort of ritual to make people's life complicated. People have to sit in order, there have to be six at the table and breaking a plate becomes a no-no.”

David Lynch - 12 ...and the boundless sea - holding it all

Lynch continues with the theme of narrative from plate to plate in his story the Boundless Sea. The darkest expression of the commissions, the twelve-piece set is undoubtedly Lynchian, with the filmmaker himself confessing his pleasure in their abstract turn out,

“My drawings are so beautifully captured, it makes me feel there is more room for experimentation.”

In times when it seems everyone documents every morsel of food on a plate before eating, Bernarduaud proves what lies beneath is equally photo worthy.

Sophie Calle - Le Porc

The collections retail from $460.00 for a six-piece set in editions in French and English by Calle to $1180.00 for a twelve-piece set by Lynch. For further details visit Bernardaud’s boutiques in France, New York and Chicago or visit the L’Art de la Table website for specifications and E-Shop.

Images courtesy of Bernardaud

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The Finish Line

The London Olympic Games delved into the dictionary of Britishness. The city's charismatic Mayor, Boris Johnson started proceedings with zoinking off the Geiger counter and yesterday evening's Closing Ceremony said farewell to twenty-six million viewers across the world with a reminiscent zig-a-zig-ah. London has undoubtedly presented one of the most memorable and spectacular Olympic Games in modern history with stunning backdrops for sporting events across the city as well as the humbling service provided by volunteers and the armed forces over the last sixteen days. Add athletic finesse and unexpected triumphs with an electricity in the air that tasered even the stiffest of upper lips, the die-hard cynics were converted - even I caught the bug and I am now a proud owner of a Team GB t-shirt. British identity had a confidence boost on the court, lake, ring, track, pit... (didn't we do well?) as well as in the mirror - it is OK to be proud in competition, particularly when one is winning. It felt like the national anthem was on a loop for two weeks!  London 2012's official slogan is Inspire A Generation. Much debate will now take place around legacy and the future of sport for young people. Ironically London 2012 may have also inspired the quintessentially British introverts who may no longer be young, but are still young at heart and who have rather enjoyed the patriotic fanfare that has decorated our streets and television screens. 

Under the artistic direction of Kim Gavin, the Closing Ceremony was to be the last plug of brand GB. The arts have played an important role since London won the Olympic Games with an extensive programme of events, performances and commissions organised by the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and it was time to shine on the global stage in a dramatic and soulful read-all-about-it finale of made in Britain culture. Boy bands, Girl Power and the late Freddie Mercury - our other Queen - celebrated decades of musical favourites around a London cityscape formed in the shape of the Union flag.

Hirst goes epic for London 2012 Closing Ceremony

Having visited Damien Hirst's retrospective at the Tate over the weekend (Money Maker, April 2012) and viewing his music video collaboration with U2 for the rerelease of their 1992 hit , Even Better Than The Real Thing, I was hoping Hirst would be involved in the ceremony and as the first shots of Sunday's stadium were being aired, my suspicions materialised. The stadium floor was covered in the artist's iconic spin painting in a red, white and blue colourway that spanned one hundred and thirty metres wide, providing a contemporary artwork as the backdrop for the bird's-eye shots throughout the evening. Art's ability to inspire was followed by a mobile fashion show with Moss, Campbell and Tennant joining a cast of British supermodels who showcased golden creations to the soundtrack of David Bowie's Fashion in global success stories such as Burberry, McQueen, Westwood and Paul Smith. From the billboard-sized lorries that looked if they had migrated the whole of Oxford Street to the Olympic Village and the iconic London black cabs, sold around the world, to the export go-to in luxury motors; a fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupés handmade in West Sussex circulated the stadium, travelling in time through Lennon's I am A Walrus from the Sixties and then to Fatboy Slim's appropriately named, Right Here Right Now of the Nineties. British business old, known an emerging had viewers spinning in sound and vision.

Imagine: Yoko Ono creates John Lennon sculpture 

Touching moments for reflection were encapsulated by a large scale piecemeal cast of John Lennon's face, designed by Yoko Ono, resulting in what must be the most unanticipated art intervention with that of Hirst to be ever staged in one venue. Competing with as many stars in the sky as those on stage, the mashup continued with super hits from Pink Floyd, the Bee Gees, Oasis and Julian Lloyd Weber alongside the Pet Shop Boys, the Band of the Coldstream Guards and George Michael. 

If the Opening Ceremony was a lesson in British social history (Opening Up, July 2012), yesterday evening was recess - a guilty pleasure playlist of Brit Rock, Pop and pride that catapulted brand GB, in Monty Python fashion, naturally, over the finish line to win Gold.

The verdict: congratulations to everyone who was involved in the London Olympic Games - it's been #highlife.

Money Maker

The eyes of the art world and the pen nibs of the critics faced London at the beginning of the week for the anticipated retrospective of Damien Hirst at Tate Modern. In what is the first extensive survey of the artist's work in a British institution, the opening of the exhibition reflected the gravitas that Hirst now commands: not only has the Tate chosen Hirst to occupy their summer 2012 slot - during the height of the country's Royal Diamond Jubilee and Olympic celebrations that will be visited by hundreds of millions around the world - the artist gave a primetime television interview of the exhibition on a national network station, inviting some of the most expensive works of contemporary art into the living rooms of millions across the country. While I challenge anyone to compete with the accessibility of contemporary art that is unquestionably being pioneered by Britain, as well as Channel 4, the network behind the interview (whose choice of presenter in personality Noel Fielding was not to everyone's liking - cue The Sunday Times art critic Waldemar Januszczak who received a tirade of abuse from Fielding fans on Twitter), the element of media attention is precisely how Hirst has risen to his position today, through tabloid hysteria of formaldehyde, sharks and front page Doctor Death attributes created by red-top giant The Sun back in the Nineties. 

After David Hockney's criticism of Hirst's 'factory' practice earlier in the year, diehard traditionalist critics and commentators, probably Sunday painters themselves who could only dream of a team of skilled assistants, dived into several debates around 'con-artists', 'frauds' and obviously the dirty word of 'money'. Money (in its millions) is a word seldom detached from a sentence with the words 'Damien' and 'Hirst' in them. After the artist's historic Sotheby's sale in 2008 and creation of the world's most expensive work of art in the form of an 8601 diamond encrusted human skull, costing £14 million, it's not difficult to understand why. Hirst himself simply justifies his million-pound-mediums as materials that were accessible to him at the time. Can one really argue with that? With every critic denouncing Hirst's content and mainstream ventures such as his commercial arm Other Criteria and even the factory transparency now for all to see at damienhirst.com, there is praise of genius and icon that places Hirst at the top of contemporary British art. On the markets, a Hirst is reportedly selling for less than in 2008 but who is to say a renaissance is not around the corner. Hirst is ultimately a living brand, a brand that competes with renowned trademarks such as Warhol or Haring, directed by their posthumous foundations - Hirst is forty six years old, has reportedly returned to painting by hand (The Devil's In The Detail, October 2009) and is unlikely to retire to the Devon countryside just yet. While this is not the beginning, illustrated in the way the artist cringes at his first exploration of colour on kitchenware when an art student during the televised interview, it is certainly not the end for brand Damien Hirst. 

Nowadays not even the exhibition gift shop is saved from scrutiny - with limited edition Hallucinatory Head spin-painted skulls on sale for no less than £36,800 it's unsurprising this souvenir made a fair few inches of newsprint this week. I myself love a good gift shop and I am fascinated how pencils and rubbers are not enough to cater for the cultural caché that gallery-goers now demand. Here are a few of my favourite, albeit reasonably priced, items from Damien Hirst at Tate Modern...

Your very own White Cube: Fridge Art

Magnet Set £9.95

Luxury Addict

Pill Scarf £125.00

It's Raining Paint

Beautiful Amore Umbrella £39.95

Ironic Tasseography

The Incomplete Truth Anamorphic Cup & Saucer £12.50

Damien Hirst
4th April - 9th September 2012
Tate Modern
Bankside
London SE1 9TG

Well Spotted

Controlled Substances Key Spot Print, 2011

Yesterday evening I made it to the very popular turn out that was the opening of new work by Damien Hirst at Other Criteria’s New Bond Street outpost. Spot Prints sees twelve new prints by silkscreen and woodblock processes – the woodblock prints being my personal favourites, with their raised texture on paper – in the now familiar spectrum of colour that has awarded Hirst iconic status since 1986. 

S-Lactoylglutathione, 2011

With this new series, Hirst explores elimination and fragmentation - spots are halved and portions are shifted – the works remain fresh, intriguing and if yesterday night was anything to go by, they certainly do not fall into the once-you've-seen-one-you've-seen-them-all category. Even if they did, now would not be the time to cry ennui. For tomorrow will see the launch of The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, a global exhibition at each of Gagosian Gallery’s eleven locations around the world. In a first of its kind, 300 works will be dispatched to the haute exhibition spaces of the Gagosian Empire and shall display the artist’s spot canvases in what will be the most expensive single-artist exhibition to date.

Have air miles you don’t know what to do with? Gagosian is offering an original Damien Hirst Spot print for Pop art aficionados who manage to visit all eleven gallery locations within the month run – click here to register for The Complete Spot Challenge.

Upcoming global exhibitions on the Gagosian website

This interesting concept is only the beginning of what will be an important year for Hirst. 2012 sees the first major museum retrospective in the United Kingdom at Tate Modern in April, which will run over a period when London and the rest of the country will have the eyes of the world upon it and the best of British will be at the forefront during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games’ festivities. So if you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Spot Prints
10th January – 14th February 2012
Other Criteria

36 New Bond Street

London W1S 2RP

The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011
12 th January – 18th February 2012
Gagosian Gallery

Damien Hirst at Tate Modern

4th April - 9th September 2012

Peel Slowly & See

There are ways to create a media frenzy for the launch of a product and there are ways to create a media frenzy for the launch of Dasha Zhukova's new art magazine Garage, titled after her successful gallery space, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow. Photographed by designer Hedi Slimane, the provocative cover of the art world's new publication sees the bottom half of model, Shauna Taylor with a tattoo designed by Damien Hirst on her vagina. Inked by London-based tattooist Mo Coppoletta at The Family Business Tattoo Shop, Miss Taylor loves the trademark butterfly design by Hirst,

"I would have been stupid not to be part of this project. I have a piece of art on my vagina. Not one person can ever say that they gave birth through a Damien Hirst piece of art. I can".

That you can Shauna, that you can.

Garage No. 1 Magazine will debut later in the year with two more exclusive covers by Dinos Chapman and Richard Prince who will be competing with a naked model's vagina seductively covered by a large butterfly sticker once the issue hits newsstands - get back to the drawing board lads.

Pop Charts

Continuing his recent penchant for the Californian lifestyle of sun, style and skate with the rerelease of customised designs for Supreme skateboards (Summer Supreme, June 2011) Damien Hirst has also designed the artwork for this year's much anticipated album, I’m With You, from Los Angeles rock legends Red Hot Chili Peppers due for release on 30th August.

The artist’s signature pharmaceutical aesthetic of a fly atop a pill joins the innovative, provocative and controversial imagery of the music industry’s collaborative history with global artists from Andy Warhol to Takashi Murakami, to create iconic album art that attributes to popular culture as well as the origins of aspirational lifestyle on an international scale. In the age of the download there is no doubt Hirst’s involvement with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers will reignite the physicality between music and consumer, as well the air-guitar-playing art collector. Here’s a look at the powerful collaborations between music and art from the charts past and present…

Andy Warhol - The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Velvet Underground

Andy Warhol - Emotions in Motions, Billy Squier

Andy Warhol - Love You Love, The Rolling Stones

Andy Warhol - Aretha, Aretha Franklin

Robert Rauschenberg - Speaking in Tongues, Talking Heads

Hiroshi Sugimoto - No Line On The Horizon, U2

Peter Blake - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles

Jenny Saville - The Holy Bible, Manic Street Preachers

Richard Prince - Sonic Nurse, Sonic Youth

Julian Opie - Blur: The Best Of, Blur

Banksy - Think Tank, Blur

Takashi Murakami - Graduation, Kanye West

KAWS - 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West

George Condo - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West

Shepard Fairey - Mothership, Led Zeppelin

Hirst's Haven

The French Principality of Monaco is world renowned as the tax haven of choice for the super rich, so it comes as no surprise that multi million pound art creator, Damien Hirst should exhibit in such a place. Looking at where he will be exhibiting begs the question, is this the most magnificent location for an art institution in the world? Le Musée Océonographique de Monaco sits 279 feet above the cliffs of Monte Carlo's coastline looking out towards the French Riviera and celebrates its centenary this year. But however much I could go into the art vs. gallery architecture debate (it brings out the insecurities of many artists in my opinion) there is a far more interesting tangent to follow and an appropriate matter for both subjects in question: money. Reports emerged towards the end of last year about Hirst's intentions for a major show in the principality - lest we forget his self-invitation upon The Wallace Collection - and on the surface, the museum's collection of sea species and ocean science marries well with the artist's pickled sharks as well as the other sixty works on display. But timing and location opens up an interesting enquiry in a year that will see Great Britain face a general election next month and the looming tax hikes, planned to be at 50 per cent, that are destined to hit British high earners. We've seen migration from pockets of the City of London to Switzerland, but this is the first physical art-related move as a result of Labour's threatening tax grip. Hirst has challenged the art markets before and I have no doubt he will do so again as Europe and the rest of the world surpasses recession-heavy Britain, but this move is a signifier that will ripple through all levels of arts in a broken Britain if change does not happen. Is the title of the exhibition a message to Gordon Brown; a symbol that abundance and prosperity can and will be found elsewhere?

CORNUCOPIA opens today and runs until September 2010 - click here for more information.