The Fondation Cartier invites Damien Hirst in Paris
It is certainly one of the major events in contemporary art this year: in July, Damien Hirst presents a monumental exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. The artist’s first institutional exhibition in France, “Cherry Blossoms” reconciles him with his love of painting through a series of large-scale paintings that joyfully take up the traditional subject of landscape painting. Known for his work centered around life and death and for his sometimes disturbing installations (notably the series “Natural History” showing animals immersed in aquariums filled with formalin), Damien Hirst develops plays with the codes of Impressionism, Pointillism or Action Painting. The result of three years of work, the “Cherry Blossoms” series was completed by the artist in November 2020 and includes 107 works in its entirety. The exhibition, upon the invitation of Hervé Chandès (General Director of the Fondation Cartier), presents 30 of these paintings to inhabit the space designed by Jean Nouvel. Inaugurated on July 6 at the Fondation Cartier, the exhibition has brought together many major players in contemporary art, starting with Emmanuel Perrotin, JR, Larry Gagosian, Raymond Depardon, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Carla Sozzani or Costa-Gavras. The exhibition is on view until January 2, 2022.
Photos: Valentin Le Cron & Michaël Huard
