“It was just a way of pinning down the joy of color.” ~Damien Hirst
I have to admit that in looking at Damien Hirst’s spot paintings, it’s still quite difficult to pin down the joy of color. It’s almost explosive. I was sifting through some of my browser bookmarks again and came across the online gallery of Hirst’s work in “The Complete Spot Paintings 1986–2011,” which was shown at the Gagosian Gallery simultaneously in all their locations earlier this year. [I really appreciate it when galleries offer an online version of some of their exhibits — very fun for a Mississippi girl!]
The Spot paintings are so simple — mostly spots of color in grids — but the “joy of color” as Hirst described it is very present. And, even though the grid formats may seem staid, that joy is still quite uncontained. In fact, the spots almost seem to be in constant motion with various shapes trying to emerge.
Seeing the photos again was a very refreshing reminder of the power (and joy) of color. See for yourself…
Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of 
