The Kyivites and the guests of the Ukrainian capital showed an unprecedented interest in the exhibition of Damien Hirst ‘Requiem’ that opened for the public access on Saturday, April 25. About 10 000 people visited the exhibition at the PinchukArtCentre and in the especially erected pavilion with the artist’s ‘sharks’ over the first three days since the vernissage. Those who wanted to encounter the works of the famous artist had to queue up for about two hours.

Also, during these days, the visitors of the exhibition had an opportunity to create their own paintings ‘Damien Hirst style’: the spin paintings. Four spin painting machines were installed in the entertainment complex ‘Arena’ using which, those who wished could paint their own painting, and especially trained assistants helped them. Before leaving for London on Sunday, Damien Hirst spent some hours at the art-centre, creating spin paintings along with Ukrainians, posing with the visitors for photo and signing their works. About 600 lucky men got the souvenir for memory.

Damien Hirst: ‘This machine is fantastic, you don’t know what you will eventually paint, this is why every painting is diamond worth. I painted not so many of these, I leave a chance to others to create their wonderful universe’.

‘Requiem’ will be on show until September 20, 2009. The biggest retrospective of Damien Hirst comprises over 100 artworks created since early 90s up to now. The exhibition presents also the world premiere of 40 paintings of the series ‘Skull Paintings’, created from 2006 to 2008.

The exhibition will be open from 25 April till 20 September 2009. Viewing hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 12:00 – 21:00 Closed – Monday Admission is free

Address: PinchukArtCentre Block А, 1/3-2, Chervonoarmiyska Street/Baseyna Street
Besarabka quarter
Kyiv 01 004
Ukraine

Contact information:
Tel.: +38 044 590-0858 or [email protected]
pinchukartcentre.org

Additional information:

Born in Bristol in 1965, Damien Hirst grew up in Leeds and studied at Goldsmiths College, London. Most notable amongst the exhibitions he curated whilst at college was Freeze, in 1988, in which he exhibited his work and that of his contemporaries. The exhibition is widely believed to have been the starting point of the Young British Artists’ careers, and a defining moment in kick-starting cutting edge British contemporary art.

Hirst’s body of work confronts the scientific, philosophical and religious aspects of human existence and includes sculpture, painting and printmaking. He has exhibited widely and was awarded the Turner Prize in 1995 for ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’. In 2004, Hirst collaborated with Sarah Lucas and Angus Fairhurst to exhibit recent works at Tate Britain, under the title In-a-Gadda-da-Vida. In 2006, works from the artist’s murderme collection were exhibited at the Serpentine gallery, London: ‘In the darkest hour there may be light.‘

Hirst’s work can be found in many important collections worldwide, including Tate, London, UK; British Council, UK; MoMA, New York, USA; Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC, USA; National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK; Broad Art Foundation; Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands; Neue Galerie Graz, Austria and State Museum of Berlin, Germany.

PinchukArtCentre is one of the largest centres for contemporary art in the Eastern Europe, opened in September 2006. The art-centre is one of the projects of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in the realm of culture. Among the key missions of the PinchukArtCentre is to present exhibitions by leading international and Ukrainian artists, support varied cultural projects and other. To the date, the PinchukArtCentre has presented nine major exhibitions viewed by over 500 000 visitors. In June-November 2007, the PinchukArtCentre officially presented Ukraine at the 52nd Venice Biennale with the art project: “Poem about an Inland Sea”.