Damien Hirst in Doha
Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) is receiving the first and the largest solo exhibition in the Middle East dedicated to the famous British artist Damien Hirst, the exhibition called "Relics" and includes 93 pieces by the world-renowned artist which considered the largest Hirst's masterpiece ever assembled.
On view from October 10, 2013 until January 22, 2014, Relics is opened to the public at ALRIWAQ DOHA exhibition space and it displays over twenty-five years of Hirst’s artistic career and includes both iconic and unseen works from Young British Artists (YBA), Relics traces the career of the world's most controversial artist and presents works from his very noteworthy exhibitions such as Leviathan’, a 6.8m long shark, it's the largest shark sculpture, suspended in a display case of turquoise formaldehyde; A platinum skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds with a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead, the sculpture called "For the Love of God" and created in 2007, another skull is in the exhibition, this one is called "For Heaven’s Sake" and created in 2008, this is the first time this pair of skulls has been exhibited together, we can also find a selection of works from his ‘Natural History’ series that shows animals preserved in formaldehyde, we can see as well many rows of randomly colored circles which called "Spot paintings", Medicine Cabinets filled with thousands of pills and more others remarkable works.
The presence of Damien Hirts was commissioned by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani who states: “Underpinning the work of the Qatar Museums Authority is our belief that art can open up new channels of communication between diverse nations, peoples and histories.” The goal is to transform this area into a platform for international contemporary artists and to create an atmosphere filled with diverse and attractive works.
It is very pleasant to be in such a place and have continuously a conversation about art, also, visitors can share directly their thoughts by visiting the website www.damienhirstqatar.qa or by recording a video of what they think through an isharepoint placed at the main exit and for those who didn't visit 'Relics' yet, they still have a chance to see these masterpieces ever been in Qatar.
i wonder why this is suddenly on top again. because it's closing?
i finally went there last weekend. of course i don't know anything about art but i can't seem to understand what makes a handful of medicine cabinets and some colored pots and pans hanging on the walls be considered such. i also don't get the chair and table in an aquarium.
that said, i liked that display of rows of mini-shelves (i don't know what you call them) with different kinds of pills and tablets. i also quite appreciate the effort one had to put in decorating skulls with diamonds. fine, cutting a cow and a calf in half isn't too bad an achievement too. the butterflies are ok as well
however, i dont quite get all the fuss with all the dead sharks in formaldehyde aquariums. i've seen them in some college labs, only those in the exhibit are probably larger. for some reason, i'm quite disappointed that the severed cow heads and flies in an aquarium neither shocked nor disgusted me. i thought they'd be stuff nightmares are made of. i was wrong.
Thelonius...as usual, the words of the genius...:) If I remember alright, an artist sold off a blank piece of paper, oh sorry a painting, with nothing drawn saying that that is his idea about purity of a woman he loved. Dont know how much he sold it for...:) I would have just dedicated a wall painted in white at home in the name of that painting, if I was that gullible...:)
He is an Art...ist, because he knows what Art...is.
Damien isn't selling you the art, he's selling you the idea of his thought. People who bought his 'arts' thought they had bought his mind. Wrong! They could have just easily buy a dead shark from the morning wet market and say it belongs to Damien Hirst. All they need is to quote his words. Try that... the suckers will believe you.
crazy museum.... i was there last week and i understood nothing.... as the guy above said ^ art is subjective.... but if i were to collect cigarette butts and display the, people would call me mad... but this guy becomes an artist
Sorry, but I think his work is over hyped and he is over rated. Having said that - Art is subjective. So good luck to him.