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Lot 125

DAMIEN HIRST
(B. 1965)
Untitled (Chris)

15 May 2025, 14:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$267,200 inc. premium

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DAMIEN HIRST (B. 1965)

Untitled (Chris)
household gloss on canvas
34 x 38 in (86.4 x 96.5 cm)
Painted in 1999

Footnotes

Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist in 1999 by the present owner.

Literature
J. Beard & M. Wilner, eds., Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, London, 2013, (illustrated p. 187).

Exhibited
New York, Gagosian, The Complete Spot Paintings 1986–2011, January 12–February 18, 2012

Comprised of ninety meticulously arranged, uniquely colored dots set in a precise matrix of nine rows and ten columns, Untitled (Chris) stands as a compelling example of Damien Hirst's acclaimed Spot series. Each chromatic sphere, while uniform in scale and spatial placement, is distinguished by its individual hue, creating a composition that is both systematically ordered and visually diverse. Despite the potential for infinite permutations within this framework, the overarching themes and conceptual undercurrents resonate consistently throughout the entire series. Executed in 1999, Untitled (Chris) represents an early iteration of the body of work that propelled Hirst to international prominence and critical distinction.

Emerging as a central figure among the Young British Artists (YBAs) during the late 1980s and 1990s, Hirst and his contemporaries were characterized by an entrepreneurial spirit and an embrace of unconventional, often provocative materials and methods. His curatorial initiative, Freeze—staged in 1988 while he was still a student at Goldsmiths College of Art—featured two Spot paintings and marked a pivotal moment, catalyzing the rise of both Hirst and the YBA collective to immediate recognition within the contemporary art world. Each spot in the series is painstakingly executed by hand using household gloss paint within a rigorously predetermined grid, a practice that interrogates the tension between mechanical precision and the corporeal trace of human intervention.

Throughout Hirst's oeuvre, the Spot paintings occupy a foundational position, functioning as a key to interpreting his broader artistic philosophy. Untitled (Chris) was included in Gagosian Gallery's ambitious 2012 exhibition series The Complete Spot Paintings 1986–2011, which presented over 300 works from the series across all eleven of the gallery's global locations. Spanning a remarkable range in scale—from minuscule pinhole-sized marks to expansive compositions up to 60 inches in diameter—each spot asserts a presence that becomes acutely palpable when viewed in person. Central to Hirst's aesthetic inquiry is the dialectic between seriality and individuality. As he reflects: "I've always liked series. [...] You get some sort of security from the repetition of a series. If you say something twice, it's pretty convincing. It's more convincing than if you say it once. I think it's also the implication of the endlessness, which kind of theoretically helps you avoid death. [...] People are afraid of change, so you create a kind of belief for them through repetition. It's like breathing. So I've always been drawn to series and pairs. A unique thing is quite a frightening object" (The artist in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist, In the darkest hour there might be light: Works from Damien Hirst's Murderme Collection, London, Serpentine Gallery/Other Criteria, 2008).

Unfolding across a radiant chromatic spectrum, Untitled (Chris) manifests a structured, contemplative grid that invites reflection on the intricate interrelations among science, religion, art, beauty, life, and death. As resonant today as at the time of its creation, the work offers a powerful, lyrical meditation on themes that remain central to the human condition. Through its elegant synthesis of order and emotion, Untitled (Chris) epitomizes Hirst's enduring engagement with existential inquiry and aesthetic precision.

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