Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst, "Cupric Nitrate," 2007 via Gagosian Gallery

Gagosian Gallery is holding a worldwide exhibition of Damien Hirst’s spot paintings across all eleven locations in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Rome, Athens, Geneva, Hong Kong, and New York. The single exhibition The Complete Spot Paintings: 1986-2011 includes 331 paintings amassed by 150 private individuals and public institutions in 20 countries. The collective effort feels appropriate for the nature of the visuals it assembled.

Each painting depicts an evenly spaced grid, or ring, of perfect circles. Because of Hirst’s variations in number, color, and scale, this simple idea is actually quite versatile as it transforms from precious to colossal. One painting contains 25,781 1-millimeter wide spots of unrepeated colors. One contains only four, each 5 feet wide. Most canvasses are rectangular, and contain a grid of evenly spaced spots. Circular canvasses that comprise the same arrangement take on the illusion of three dimensions. Some pack the spots into rings of concentric circles so tightly, they cross the eyes like a color blindness test.

Hirst describes this collection simply as “a way of pinning down the joy of color,” but it seems there’s more at play. His repeated composition acts as a control for a visual experiment. Such a multitude of paintings that alter only number, color, and scale offers a sort of lesson in the principles of abstraction. It’s not long before some canvasses stand out among the rest, some fade. And it’s not as clear as picking out the extremes in any one category.

The commercial palatability of Hirst’s worldwide extravaganza invites cynicism, which certainly resonates at times. The gift shop of spotted merchandise, from cuff links to iron-on patches, adds to the feeling. Regardless of intention or effect, the sheer magnitude of this exhibition makes it an event worth seeing.

“The Complete Spot Paintings: 1986-2011” is on view at Gagosian Galleries in Chelsea and the Upper East Side through February 18^th.