Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirstis an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists, who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest living artist, with his wealth valued at £215m in the 2010 Sunday Times Rich List. During the 1990s his career was closely linked with the collector Charles Saatchi, but increasing frictions came to...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPainter
Date of Birth7 June 1965
But for me, from my point of view, I don't mind if it falls over... if you break the glass you replace the glass, if the sheep falls out you can always get a new sheep.
I love art. It is uplifting.
But I think it's more that when you're young, you're invincible, you're immortal - or at least you think you are. The possibilities are limitless, you're inventing the future. Then you get older and suddenly you have a history. It's fixed. You can't change anything. I find that a bit disturbing, to be honest.
I did a load of medicine cabinets a long time ago and I named them after Sex Pistols songs. I suppose I must be getting old if I'm naming work after Philip Larkin poems.
But then architects don't build their own houses.
If the choice is between buying another building or a Pollock, I'd go for the Pollock every time.
Commercials are so contemporary and up to date that when you're involved in that visual world, you can't really go backwards.
You've got to be able to copy things faithfully before you can deviate.
As a father, I would say I am more like a mother. I do a lot of hugging.
It's such a crass idea - you're either in love or out of love.
The answer to how to live is to stop thinking about it.
Artists are like everybody else.
You can always tell a great painting, because when you get close there are all these nervous marks.
When you've just done it, you're not sure. But when you've sat with it for a couple of hours and you don't want to do anything more to it, that's a great feeling. It can stand on its own two feet.