Der er biennale i Venedig. Den deltager Damien Hirst ikke i. Han har til gengæld fået en stor soloudstilling betitlet Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable i Palazzo Grassi, hvor han viser nye værker, der for flere værkers vedkommende er inspireret af antik kunst. Her en Sfinks og en bronzeskulptur af Mickey Mouse. Begge skulpturer har fået det tvist, at de ligner noget, der er blevet hevet op fra havets bund. NY Times har en grundig omtale af udstillingen:
"Francesco Bonami, a curator who organized a major exhibition of Mr. Hirst’s work in Doha, Qatar, four years ago, said the latest Hirst production “goes beyond good or bad,” adding: “In his bombastic, exaggerated way, Damien has created a narrative the likes of which the public has never seen. Many will call it bad taste or kitsch, but it’s more than all of that. It’s Hollywood.”
(...)
Still, for every critic, there is a Hirst fan. “Damien’s career has been made without regard to curators or critics,” said Nicholas Serota, the departing director of the Tate, which held a 2012 Hirst retrospective. “That leaves the museum world a bit nervous.”
For nearly four months, Elena Geuna, the show’s curator, has been orchestrating the mammoth transport of sculptures — some weighing as much as four tons — by boat, many from a foundry in Gloucestershire, England, and installing videos and countless tiny objects that fill the show’s nearly two dozen glass vitrines (each vitrine is considered one artwork). All told, more than 1,000 suppliers from places like Italy, Germany, South Africa and the United States were involved in making the show.
“It’s like Elvis coming back to play in Las Vegas,” said Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe. “After more than a decade, Damien is once again allowing his work to be scrutinized by a large public, and in doing so he is definitely putting his neck on the line.”
Mr. Barker has witnessed Mr. Hirst’s gambles up close. In 2008, he helped mastermind Mr. Hirst’s audacious attempt at bypassing his dealers by organizing an epic auction at Sotheby’s of more than 200 of his works. It took place on the same fateful day that Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, yet Mr. Hirst still managed to sell $200 million of his work.
(...)
“Damien is an astonishing survivor,” said Robert Storr, a curator, professor, critic and former dean of the Yale School of Art. “He’ll probably produce a spectacle, but I doubt it will be of lasting interest artistically. Unlike Jeff Koons, he rarely produces surprises anymore.” He added that while the public appetite for temporary exhibitions has grown, the audience for serious art has shrunk, and that the financially interested people like collectors and dealers are a very small group.
None of the new works are unique; each is made in an edition of three, with two artist’s proofs. In each edition, there are three sculptures: what Mr. Hirst describes as the “Coral,” meaning the work created to look like its “original” encrusted state from the deep; a “Treasure,” the artwork seemingly restored by conservators for display; and the “Copy,” which purports to be a modern museum reproduction of the original."
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