I had my stomach pumped as a child because I ate pills thinking they were sweets. . . . I can’t understand why some people believe completely in medicine and not in art, without questioning either. —Damien Hirst
The Visual Candy paintings allude to movements including Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art, while the Natural History sculptures—glass tanks containing biological specimens preserved in formaldehyde—reflect the visceral realities of scientific investigation through minimalist design. Despite their stark formal differences, the two series were made during the same period and share conceptual foundations: an exploration of the relationships between pleasure and pain, transience and permanence, logic and emotion.
In the Visual Candy paintings, the saturated hues of bubblegum pinks, acid greens, and bold blues merge and overlap in loose ovals of thick impasto or repetitive, pointillist-style blots. With euphoric titles such as Happy Happy Happy (1993–94), Wowee Zowee (1993), and Super Silly Fun (1993), the works revel in color and pattern through an informal, nostalgic painting technique, which stands in opposition to the mechanical application of color in Hirst’s spot paintings.
The exuberance of the Visual Candy paintings contrasts with the sterility of the Natural History sculptures, but the works harmonize when viewed together. The paintings—jubilant and playful, almost decorative—create a sense of comfort against which the full violence of the formaldehyde works can be felt.
Source: Gagosian press release
I had my stomach pumped as a child because I ate pills thinking they were sweets. . . . I can’t understand why some people believe completely in medicine and not in art, without questioning either. —Damien Hirst
The Visual Candy paintings allude to movements including Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art, while the Natural History sculptures—glass tanks containing biological specimens preserved in formaldehyde—reflect the visceral realities of scientific investigation through minimalist design. Despite their stark formal differences, the two series were made during the same period and share conceptual foundations: an exploration of the relationships between pleasure and pain, transience and permanence, logic and emotion.
In the Visual Candy paintings, the saturated hues of bubblegum pinks, acid greens, and bold blues merge and overlap in loose ovals of thick impasto or repetitive, pointillist-style blots. With euphoric titles such as Happy Happy Happy (1993–94), Wowee Zowee (1993), and Super Silly Fun (1993), the works revel in color and pattern through an informal, nostalgic painting technique, which stands in opposition to the mechanical application of color in Hirst’s spot paintings.
The exuberance of the Visual Candy paintings contrasts with the sterility of the Natural History sculptures, but the works harmonize when viewed together. The paintings—jubilant and playful, almost decorative—create a sense of comfort against which the full violence of the formaldehyde works can be felt.
Source: Gagosian press release
