Last night Gagosian Gallery hosted the opening of Damien Hirst’s latest work entitled End of an Era. His diamond world was star studded with icons in all genres of culture, from art to music to film to sports.
At moments it was hard to gauge whether the bright lights were reflections of his entire diamond lined wall or if it was just the camera flashes trying to capture a Mick Jagger or Terry Richardson (to name a few) moment…
Though everything felt so surreal I was modestly enamored by the photo realistic paintings of the diamonds. It was hard to believe that it was a painting or even a photograph because of the realistic reflections that seemed to be cast from the light in the room.
“The exhibition takes its title from the central sculpture in the exhibition, a severed bull’s head with golden horns and crowned with a solid gold disc. Suspended in formaldehyde and encased in a golden vitrine, this totemic sculpture acts as a powerful coda to The Golden Calf (2008). End of an Era proffers a sacrificial head, here dismembered from the majestic body of the earlier sculpture. While The Golden Calf symbolized the worshipping of a false idol, with End of an Era (2009) Hirst demystifies the biblical tale and, by extension, debunks his own myth-making,” quoted from press release.
“Judgement Day (2009) a thirty-foot long gold cabinet filled with close to 30,000 manufactured diamonds. A series of photorealist paintings of famous diamonds including The Golden Jubilee (2008) The Agra (2006) and The Premiere Rose (2006) are shown together here for the first time.”
End of an Era
January 30 – March 6, 2010
980 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075
T. 212.744.2313 F. 212.772.7962
Hours: Tue-Sat 10-6
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Written by:
Mini Boss - who posted 885 articles on Trendland.
A mini lady searching for big things to discover.
February 1st, 2010 at 1:14 am
I can’t believe that I missed this… Thanks for sharing!
February 1st, 2010 at 9:14 am
Its not too late ! its open until March
February 1st, 2010 at 2:10 pm
I feel this exhibition suits my sense of life.
February 1st, 2010 at 2:44 pm
As usual Damien Hirst has created more mildly interesting artwork.
Or did he? I think it was all done by his assistants.
It’s quite sad because really they deserve most of the credit.
Well the photorealist work gets a 6 out of ten from me. I can do better than that. And I do. Check out my website if you don’t believe me.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:51 pm
marcello i totally get that commentary on this suiting your sense of life. thats a good comment. Mark, you are absolutely right that his work is done by his hundreds of assistants but its the grandiose concepts and execution that put him on a pedestal. and as an observer you gotta have a sense of humor otherwise his art cant work.
February 1st, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Although much of this work is really quite nice I feel it all is just a somewhat grotesque display of wealth and success for damien hirsch. I think he has greatly taken his fame into account in creating this rather unimaginative exhibit. I think he needs to reinvent this concept and make it something that it wasn’t when he first started making ar
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:52 pm
tHirsty fish cashin’ checks off sure: art as mercantile bliss.
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:13 pm
I just find the adoration for this mans art rather overblown. A – he’s just a ‘conceptualizer’ and then he oversees second rate work itself. B – he used to be creating art about death, which made for some interesting art, but now it’s just about money.
The comments I make about the poor quality of the diamond paintings are due to the rather limited palette of colors and the obvious brush-strokes. Photorealism is meant to imitate as closely as possible a photograph. Photograph’s aren’t made of brush-strokes and I’m just guessing but the source photo for the images would have had a significant greater number of colors.
February 3rd, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Mark-
I understand what you’re saying about the direction his work is taking, but money can serve as an interesting subject matter too. I think Damien is one of the only artists doing anything interesting with the concept right now – the art world shuns the sense of money behind it so often that it seems like he’s the only guy engaging it with any sense of humor or playfulness. It’s not entirely original in the scope of his work, but I think it works well. I do wish he would kind of reinvent himself though.
Also, I don’t know about the prescription for photorealism you write – I think Hirst would want to adhere less to any school or train of thought, especially for painting, than you would think. I do agree though that a few of the paintings would work better if they had turned out a little more realistic, though (the ones of gems sitting on a surface I like more).
February 7th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Seems like trend hunters just skim the top of culture. Trendy consumers are posers and leaches of real culture. Not to ruin your fun. Seems like Trend FanBoys are the most boring, best dressed, dudes with nothing to say, and cannot wait for the next big thing. But what more is there to ya? Yo, ok, you’re right, yall look amazing in Facebook photos and shit.
Do you feel embarrassed that yall can’t even come up with your own analysis for the Damien Hirst exhibition and have to rely on the press release? You just post it because Damien Hirst may or may not be relevant, and then grab of some other shitty analysis?
THANKS FOR KEEPING ART ALWAYS WITHIN THE REALMS OF COMMODITY BROS!
Thanks for making “culture” so consumable.
Seriously, yall are boring! Yall couldn’t understand art theory or philosophy to save your ass.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Daniel –
Dont be sad cause nobody loves you on facebook or you wish you can be to at the hottest party/opening or even know how to dress yourself (ps: go far away from Abercrombie yellow tees). If you are able to analyze “bro” we are not waiting for the next big thing ! we are creating it dummy ! We just post it cause we want to share with our readers – if they like it or not its a personal decision. Art is a personal judgment.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
I had to laugh at the mention of art theory, analysis and philosophy. Now I may be poorly dressed, definitely not into the latest hip thing but I think the people who produce the website/blog have done a pretty good, fair and even handed job of covering an exhibition from what is deemed to be one of our greatest living artists. (He’s not and such a thing is only transitional). The fact that the writers are into fashion doesn’t excuse your boofheaded attitude.
Mr Cyril Style might be a trendy dandy kind of dude but at least he understands one of the most important things about art. Art is a personal judgment.
Oh and by the way art is a commodity. My inspiration for painting the things I do comes from seventeenth century Holland where art was seen as just that – a commodity. Around this time the first art dealers and markets appeared. For better or worse money seems to be central to the judgement of good, great and greatest since this time.
I would like to be successful but money isn’t the way I’ll judge this. What makes me immensely happy is the sense of achievement in finishing a very difficult work or the look on peoples faces when they see my work for the first time. I think even Damien still gets a thrill if he can make people think and smile when viewing his work.
Oh and I’m on Facebook! Shit I must be turning trendy. LMAO.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Cyril ‘bro’ Style-
Thanks for the retaliation bro, it was pretty sweet and means much. I actually was shopping Abercrombie today, I enjoy the plaid cargo shorts and the polo shirts to go with my bro-hawk. You know Cyril aka “Surreal styles” I totally thought I was right until I saw that kewl pic you posted of “Oil in water”, I knew from that moment on I was dealing with a true master of aesthetics/ art critic. I then decided well there has got to be some other way to get back at you, but I was wrong, nothing on earth could be more relevant then Chromeo at the Guggenheim. Especially not in 2010!
“Dear Daniel, I attend meaningful and cool shows, therefore I create the very definition of cool and meaningful bitch”
And I will leave you with this:
One of the necessary conditions of bourgeios identity was the subject’s identity was the subject’s capacity to experience the autonomy of the aesthetic, to experience pleasure without interest.
That my friend it you and the interest of this site. Aesthetics over interest and thought!
Daniel –
P.S. Ho do you feel the museum world and art world will change now that Jeffery Deitch will be LA’s MOCA Museum Director?
February 8th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
aesthetics! the leader of the toro! where there is beauty, my eye will travel.
im glad you finally understand the meaning of trendland. 
February 8th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Daniel –
by reading the first lines of your comment, i understood what kind of judgmental guy you are ! the site your are talking of (The mobile diary ) is a website of random peoples from all over the world post their phone photography, the pictures you described are not mine. Also you are talking on my site as well, and know that we never pretended being art critics or being in the art scene.
After you want to talk about bourgeoisie? You probably dont know that im French, so i know well about it, even tho’ i didnt understood your copy/past sentence “was the subject’s identity was the subject’s capacity” ?
As i told you im not into the art world, just an art lover, so i dont care about Deitch – But if you wanna talk fashion, lets talk !