Damien Hirst is best known for his artworks featuring dead animals, including sharks and cows, preserved in formaldehyde.
Now his work has taken a more romantic turn as he launches a collection of original prints and sculptures in time for Valentine’s Day.
The exhibition, called LOVE, will include two sculptures shaped like love-heart sweets, entitled YU4EVA.Another, called Love Struck, is a heart pierced by a crossbow bolt suspended in a sweet jar.
A “LOVE Gold” collection of 14 love-heart prints, each featuring a single butterfly, will also be shown. Eight were silkscreened by Hirst and the other six created from gold leaf. A follow-up collection of prints called “LOVE Silver” will be released in June. All the works are new and have not been shown before.
The exhibition will run from February 9 to 21 at Paul Stolper gallery in Museum Street, Holborn, and is free to view. Prices for the works start at £5,000 each. Hirst, a Goldsmiths College alumnus, has had a sometimes stormy love life, with his wife of 19 years Maia Norman leaving him for a former mercenary soldier in 2012.
The artist, 49, reportedly split up with 23-year-old personal stylist Roxie Nafousi last year.
Speaking about his new exhibit, he said: “Love is a beautiful thing and I see it as a small antidote to all the horror in the world.”
Mr Stolper said of the exhibition: “It is a project he has wanted to do for some time. The pop-up is a brilliant opportunity for people in love or falling in love to see some Hirst works. They are all completely new. I think they are beautiful, stunning.
“Hirst is always trying something new and pushing boundaries. The techniques used on the prints include foil-blocking, which he was experimenting with, and screen-printing.
“The exhibition will be open on a first-come, first-serve basis: come early to avoid disappointment.”
The gallery will be open from Monday to Saturday between 10am and 6pm.
