First major solo exhibition by Hirst in Japan

In 2021, the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain presented the latest series of paintings by British artist Damien Hirst for the first time internationally. The series of works, entitled Cherry Blossoms, earned great acclaim and is currently on display at the National Art Center in Tokyo. For Damien Hirst, Cherry Blossoms, Hirst's first major solo exhibition in Japan, the artist himself has selected 24 large-scale paintings from the series of 107 canvases. On view until May 23, 2022, interested visitors will have the opportunity to see how Hirst interprets Western painting from Post-Impressionism to Action Painting in his own unique way, creating a group of colorful, dynamic landscapes.

For the sculptor, painter and conceptual artist, who has been making abstract paintings on and off since the late 1980s, this series is a major achievement in terms of his use of color and pictorial space. The landscapes transport viewers into a fantastical world where they feel as if they are standing under a row of cherry trees in vibrant bloom. »The Cherry Blossoms are about beauty and life and death. They’re extreme—there’s something almost tacky about them. Like Jackson Pollock twisted by love. They’re decorative but taken from nature. They’re about desire and how we process the things around us and what we turn them into, but also about the insane visual transience of beauty—a tree in full crazy blossom against a clear sky. [...]« Hirst is quoted as saying on the National Art Center's website.