Damien Hirst, H5-8 Savoy, 2018

Diasec-mounted Giclée print on aluminum panel

35.5 x 35.5 in | 90 x 90 cm

Ed of 100

Named for the famous London hotel, Damien Hirst’s ‘Savoy’ employs eloquent colour contrasts and an aesthetic of randomness to create an undeniable sense of life and vitality. Published as part of Hirst’s ‘Colour Space’ (H5, 2018) series, ‘Savoy’ is a facsimile print derived from his ‘Colour Space’ paintings from 2016. These works energetically break down the mechanical logic of Hirst’s ‘Spot Paintings’ (begun in 1986).

Set against a black background is a kaleidoscopic palette of colour conferred randomly to spontaneously arranged spots. These spots are imperfect and subtly warped at times through the splattering of paint. The Pollock-like action this implies is complimented by the apparent movement of the spots which drift toward each other, at times touching or overlapping. Considering the sheer number of dynamic spots, which cover the near entirety of the visual field and even appear to surpass its limits, comparisons can be drawn to atomic particles which similarly reverberate with undeniably energy.

Derived from a minority of works set against a black background from the series, ‘Savoy’ emphasises the vibrancy of spots through the inherent colour contrasts. From the resulting composition emerges unintentional swirling and circular patterns which appear like a mosaic, the individual spots akin to intricate tesserae.