Moscow gallery "Triumph" is a project of Damien Hirst's "Dead"

[Евгений]

Gallery "Triumph", from 17 December to 15 January

Moscow gallery "Triumph" is a project of Damien Hirst's "The Dead" - a series of 30 works executed in the technique of printing on paper. At each - the skull in two colors (eg, brown with gold or red with green, silver or gold), while foil was used, and the surface works pleasantly iridescent. Copies of each of the 30 works - 15 copies.

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gallery co-owner of Triumph Emelyan Zakharov explains the concept of the exhibition: "It's very beautiful, bright work. And it is very inexpensive. We came up with this exhibition, so that everybody could buy someone a gift on New Year's Hearst, because € 10 Thousands of the author's signed print - it is cheap. "

€ 10 thousand for the author's signed print of the new series is really not very expensive. Aquatint Hirst (a type of engraving with etching on a metal board) with multi-colored dots are now on the secondary market (ie auctions) € 3-5 thousand, aquatint with stretched wings of a butterfly - about € 10 thousand, the famous picture of the skull, sprinkle on top diamond dust - all € 20 thousand is not surprising: The Draw graphics the same art form as painting or drawing, and she enjoyed all the artists from Durer and Rembrandt.

However, there is one subtlety to which not think of Durer and Rembrandt, and which mastered Hurst.

For the old masters such as Durer and Rembrandt, etching or woodcut was one of the ways of artistic expression with its own characteristics, which these masters masterfully used. A lottery was a pleasant application, because of the peculiarities of ancient man-made techniques of all prints is slightly different from one another, and Rembrandt, for example, purposely finished the plaque between the prints. XVIII and XIX century used the lottery graphics mainly for reproduction of painting: the board cut the engraver, looking at the picture. Self artistic value returned to the lottery schedule at the beginning of XX century, most home to us examples - it is expressive woodcuts Vladimir Favorskogo colored lithographs with views of St. Petersburg Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva.

And by the middle of XX century, all accepted norms of mixed ages. Pablo Picasso in the same series, such as the history of the Minotaur, did oil painting, pen drawings, limited edition etchings, ceramics Circulation. Used equipment they had little influence on the artistic conception of the image, which was of primary importance and simply embodied in various ways (the artist's own hand). And then Andy Warhol made a lottery the main essence of his artistic production: likening a car, the technical way to print in its "Factory" silk and only later (sometimes) signed them.
 
Damien Hirst, this is truly a great schemer, united to achieve all of its predecessors and multiplying them all on the commercial benefit received as a result of the alpha and omega of modern marketing - brand. He created his shark and the golden calves, immersed in formaldehyde for a great, brand collectors for a great price (Steve Cohen bought the shark for $ 12 million, Francois Pinault bought a bull for £ 10,3 million). He exhibits his works exclusively in the great, important, branded galleries, where the street to go terribly, - White Cube in London. As you know, after the brand was born, the essence of the subject few people are interested. If there is a skull made of platinum, studded with diamonds and sold for $ 100 million, then the picture of the skull for $ 10 thousand is seen as manna from heaven. Damien Hirst, the grand master of marketing and branding, the last ten years have not made a single misstep. Shark, however, was almost spoiled, but it was a long time, and then not come up yet Hurst accompany expensive artifacts cheaper products for the middle class. Even following his enormous series of "Pharmacy" Hurst made in the form of exclusive and expensive installations in the form of pills on the shelves ( "Lullaby Spring" sold for $ 17 million), and in the form of oil paintings with colored circles (circles writing assistants) that can be hung the living room wall, and in a democratic prints with the same circles.

Like any other brand on the production of luxury goods, Hurst should be extremely concerned about the scarcity of the series. Here he almost made a mistake - before the crisis there has been an obvious overproduction of circles, butterflies, paintings of rotation (these are "explosions" which are obtained when a rotating disk mounted on canvas, artist's assistant to pour the paint). Malicious tongues claim that monographic auction in September 2008, which were exhibited hundreds of works by Hirst, it was a sale of unclaimed runoff accumulated in warehouses gallery White Cube. The auction was a success, but after the cost of all the various products of Hirst fell (profits went down, and he even had to reduce the number of his assistants).

But Hurst took himself in hand and announced that the installation will no longer do, and that the guns be returned to the original artists - oil and canvas. Translated, it means that the finished product is finite, and hence the high price it is justified. And all the hullabaloo raised by the criticism over the exhibition of paintings by Damien Hirst at the Wallace Collection ( "Kommersant-Weekend" wrote about this on 20 November), it is affordable only for the benefit of: time of new installations will be no more, then the old price will grow. And then, a good painter Hurst or not, and what is the meaning of his new paintings, it is not important.

Simultaneously, the artist completely abandons inexpensive lottery support just accented this time a small edition of the series - 30 pieces to 15 copies of a handwritten signature. The plot has already been verified. "Although this is a skull, it is a celebration of life" - says the author. Triumph of "Triumph" - a combination of a win-win.