Damien Hirst’s stunning Souls butterflies have been out for just over a year and the editions are reducing in number fast. Several of the Souls series no longer available and they are set to rise in price imminently as the availability decreases.
These butterflies are stunningly beautiful and have been created over several years to complete the series. Four different shaped butterflies each in 80 different colour variations, of each one there is only 15 made so the low edition number adds to their value and collectability.
The foil-blocking printing of each butterfly has been done in three stages: the bottom, base colour print is then accentuated by two more sparkling layers, that pick out details on the patterned wings of the bugs, or the shape of the thoraxes. Not all of the butterflies are three colours, however, some are one or two, and in several cases, layers have been blind-blocked, creating only a change in texture.
Hirst has also used butterflies as his subject in the Sanctum series, an amazingly beautiful set of 6 prints evoking the stained glass windows in churches.
Damien Hirst will be having a major retrospective at the Tate Modern in April 2012 as part of the cultural Olympics, as he has been selected as one Britain’s most influential artists. His biggest solo show to date, it will review his key works over the last 20 years and will be displayed over a whole floor of the Tate Modern which shows just how prolific he has been as an artist. Hirst undeniably provokes differing reactions in people but one thing that cannot be denied is his ability to create powerful thought-provoking images.
Damien Hirst first came to public attention in London in 1988 when he conceived and curated Freeze, an exhibition in a disused warehouse which showed his work and that of his friends and fellow students at Goldsmiths College. He went on to become a significant figure in the YBA group championed by the likes of Saatchi. Hirst has since become one of the most influential artists of his generation.
