The White House Gallery

Damien Hirst

DAMIEN HIRST (b. 1966) British Hirst studied at Goldsmith’s College, London from 1986 – 1989. In 1988 while still a student, he curated the legendary exhibition FREEZE in an abandoned warehouse in London’s Docklands. This exhibition established the nucleus of the Young British Artists or “YBA’s” as they came to be known, after a series of 7 exhibitions held at the Saatchi Gallery in London starting in March 1992. Hirst’s work deals with issues of life and death and arouses feelings of anxiety in the spectator. Hirst became a household name almost overnight, through publicity associated with exhibiting a giant tiger shark in a glass tank full of formaldehyde at the Saatchi Gallery in 1991. This work kind of work brought Hirst international fame. Hirst constantly seeks to violate traditional conceptions of art and of so called good taste. Hirst was awarded the turner Prize in 1995. He now lives in Devon and has increasingly diversified his activities.