Damien Hirst, H4-3 Garden of Dreams, 2018

Diasec-mounted Giclée print on aluminum panel

36.25 x 49.75 in | 92 x 126 cm

Ed of 75

Damien Hirst’s seemingly abstract candy-coloured flower field, ‘Garden of Dreams’, is an engulfing facsimile print from ‘Veils’ (H4). Depicting details derived from his ‘Veil Paintings’ (2017) series and published in 2018, in this work Hirst fills the pictorial space with Pierre Bonnard-like colours using a technique reminiscent of Pointillism to create works that function like a veil. The artist has described these compositions as acting as “a barrier, a curtain between two things...it’s solid yet invisible and reveals and yet obscures the truth”.

‘Garden of Dreams’, named for the garden in Kaiser Mahal Kathmandu, Nepal, is incredibly energetic, largely dominated by short strokes of bubble-gum pink and variously overlaid with yellows, white, blues and greens. Using exceptionally thick impasto which at times even splatters, ‘Garden of Dreams’ has an air of spontaneity and action. With its numerous painted layers, the composition appears to recede backward endlessly, as if inviting the viewer to follow along the journey into the depths of the print.

These effects are captured in the present edition, a facsimile of the highest quality. ‘Garden of Dreams’ conveys every detail of the original painting, eloquently translating the textures, colours and sense of depth into the printed medium. It also builds on the foundations of Hirst’s original work, inherently acting as another boundary before the world within the pictorial space.