A series of cherry blossom paintings might not be what you expected from a man who’s famous for dissected sharks and taxidermied animal sculptures, but here we are! To coincide with the upcoming sakura season, The National Art Center, Tokyo will be exhibiting a number of paintings from Damien Hirst’s latest ‘Cherry Blossoms’ series.
Often described as the enfant terrible of the art world, Hirst has a penchant for breaking rules, creating installations that prompt visceral reactions from art lovers. These characteristics are also apparent in his grandiose, abstract depictions of sakura, which have a splash of Jackson Pollock’s influence in them.
The series, which comprises 107 pieces in total, took three years to paint and was finally completed in November 2020. The largest canvasses are 7m long and 5m tall. This show marks Hirst's first major solo exhibition in Japan. Bold, chaotic and mesmerising in equal measure, this collection of paintings from the series, personally selected for the exhibition by Hirst, is a playful exploration of life, death and beauty.