A different look at Damien Hirst

For decades, Damien Hirst has repeatedly succeeded in attracting the attention of the art world and dividing it. His project Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable (2017), which comprises around 950 works, is of particular significance for the current exhibition at the Albertina modern. With this qualitatively controversial work, Hirst questions the credibility of archaeological documentation. Numerous drawings that Hirst made for the project can be seen alongside other graphic works in the exhibition Damien Hirst. Drawings. The drawings by the famous artist are little known and are presented here for the first time in a museum context. They can be divided into three categories: Studies, independent works and retrospective drawings that explore alternative ideas to an already completed artwork. Sculptures and paintings accompanying the drawings provide a deeper insight into the artist's work. The exhibition will be shown in Vienna from May 7 to October 12.

Damien Hirst is one of the Young British Artists, a loose group of artists whose name first began to circulate in London's waterfront district after the exhibition Freeze (1988), which Hirst co-curated. Born in 1965, the conceptual artist, painter and sculptor made a name for himself primarily through his taxidermy works, which represent the morbid character of his art. In 1995, Hirst won the Turner Prize, the most important art award in Great Britain. In spring 2024, the backdating of some of Hirst's works, which were actually created in 2017, made headlines.