Hirst hopes to revolutionise art market with 'Golden Calf'
Friday 20 June 2008
Latest in News
Related stories
On Facebook
Arts & Ents blogs
Heidi: I don’t want my night to ever fizzle off, I want to finish it with an explosion
In Miami last year I discovered a DJ named Heidi Van Den Amstel, who played a brilliant set at Sunda...
Becoming Damien Hirst? You’re not the first
Damien Hirst, the richest, probably most famous, contemporary living artist, once remarked: “I don't...
The Photography Blog: Rise of the smartphone, but smart photography too?
Assuming Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t got his sums wrong, the market for smartphone photography is booming...
VIEW GALLERY
A calf in formaldehyde with gold-plated horns and hooves leads a collection of previously unseen work by Damien Hirst that will be auctioned off this summer in a move that could revolutionise the sale of contemporary art.
A living artist has never before put a collection of brand new work straight on to the open market. Such pieces are usually sold through galleries and art dealers, usually to buyers who are known to them.
This method gives more control to the artist and opens up the sale to a much wider group of prospective buyers. Yesterday, art experts were predicting that the auction – the highlight of which is the gold calf, Hirst's largest ever formaldehyde work – could mark a turning point in the way artists sell their work. Indeed, Hirst himself hinted that "the world's changing – ultimately I need to see where this road leads", adding that such an auction "[felt] like a natural evolution for contemporary art".
"Although there is risk involved, I embrace the challenge of selling my work in this way," he said. He also vowed not to stop selling through his galleries, which include White Cube and Gagosian in London.
Hirst's 2.15 metre bull sculpture, The Golden Calf, is crowned by a solid gold disc, while its hooves and horns are cast in 18-carat gold. The piece sits on a marble base, is encased in a gold-plated box, and is expected to fetch up to £12m.
The sale will also feature new paintings and works that revisit some of Hirst's favourite subjects, including butterflies, cancer cells and pills, while four pieces will be sold for charity.
Sotheby's is conducting the sale over two days in September, enough time for up to 180 works to be sold, according to experts. Qatar's royal family and the Scottish property entrepreneur David Roberts are said to be among the biggest buyers of Hirst's work, as are a number of wealthy Russians. Sotheby's has extended the pre-sale exhibition to 10 days – double the normal length – and has alerted museums and galleries in hope that some of the works will reach public collections.
Cheyenne Westphal, the chairman of Sotheby's contemporary art in Europe, said: "We are hoping museums and private collectors who make their artworks available to the public on a regular basis will be present."
She added that the latest creations took Hirst's large-scale sculptures to a "new level". "What's new here is the monumental scale and the use of gold," she said.
Melanie Gerlis, art market editor at The Art Newspaper, said : "This is another outlet for him, it is a way of widening his market."
- 1 The 20 best audiobooks
- 2 Graham Coxon: All a blur
- 3 'Sluttish stars harm youngsters,' says Mike Stock
- 4 Leonardo da Vinci and the body beautiful
- 5 First Night: Confession of a Child of the Century, Cannes Festival
- 6 Messy, dirty, rough. 'Lawless' in Cannes...
- 7 Album: John Mayer, Born and Raised (Columbia)
- 8 Joe Strummer: The angry young man who grew up
- 9 Ireland mourns comic talent as 'Father Ted' actor dies, aged 45
- 10 Grace Dent on Television: The Exclusives, ITV2
- 1 Robert Fisk: The Belfast hotel where you check in but never leave
- 2 Philip Hensher: Will nobody mourn the death of classical music?
- 3 Portugal 'sells' Ronaldo to Spain in £160m deal on national debt
- 4 Owen Jones: Hatred of those on benefits is dangerously out of control
- 5 Allardyce proves substance can triumph over style
- 6 Villas-Boas refuses to be rushed over Liverpool job
- 7 Ireland mourns comic talent as 'Father Ted' actor dies, aged 45
- 8 French in uproar over oral sex anti-smoking posters
- 9 Robert Fisk: Megrahi is dead. Now we'll never know the truth about Lockerbie
- 10 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Keeping pace with the London 2012 Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Pathetic fantasist or Nazi spy? The mysterious Mrs O'Grady



Comments