Damien Hirst is a contemporary British artist, renowned for his conceptual works that investigate themes of mortality, science, and belief. Among his most iconic and enduring series are the Spot Paintings—rigorously ordered grids of colored dots that explore the intersection of color, precision, and seriality. Though seemingly mechanical, these paintings reflect Hirst’s interest in pharmaceutical aesthetics, repetition, and the limits of human perception. The spot motif, repeated across hundreds of canvases in varying sizes and color combinations, has become a visual signature of his practice.

He is associated with the Young British Artists (YBAs), a group of artists who emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Britain. Known for their provocative, materially diverse work, the YBAs rejected traditional art-making conventions in favor of conceptual daring and cultural critique—an approach that continues to inform Hirst’s artistic language. The precision and detachment of the Spot Paintings can be seen as a counterpoint to his more visceral works, such as preserved animals and medical cabinets, yet they share a common fascination with order, chaos, and control.

Damien Hirst, born 1965 in Bristol, England, lives and works in London and Gloucestershire. He studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, and played a pivotal role in the landmark 1988 exhibition Freeze, which helped define the emerging YBA movement. Hirst has exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale in 1993 and 2017, and was awarded the Turner Prize in 1995.