DAMIEN HIRST

Damien Hirst (b. 1965) explores themes of art, beauty, science, religion, and mortality through diverse media, from Spot paintings to preserved animals in formaldehyde. Rising to fame in the late 1980s as a leading Young British Artist (YBA), he gained attention with Freeze (1988) and his iconic shark piece, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991). His work often juxtaposes life and death, as seen in butterfly installations, medicine cabinets, and diamond-encrusted skulls. Major retrospectives and projects, including Newport Street Gallery, cement his influence