Bromobenzotrifluoride (from 12 Woodcut Spots) 2010

DAMIEN HIRST born 1965, British

Bromobenzotrifluoride (from 12 Woodcut Spots) 2010

colour woodcut
91.5 x 91.5 cm (sheet); 117.5 x 117.5 cm (framed)
signed lower right: Damien Hirst
numbered and inscribed verso: 39/48/ WOODCUTS

published by The Paragon Press, London
accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from DTR Modern Galleries, New York

edition: 39/48

Provenance:
DTR Modern Galleries, New York, 2015
Private collection, Melbourne

EXHIBITED IN MELBOURNE

Estimate: $25000 - 35000

Like the artist himself, Damien Hirst’s spot paintings and prints have transcended their iconoclastic origins to attain classical status within the realm of international contemporary art. Since having created his first spot painting in 1986, Hirst and his London studio have made over a thousand works in the series, which forms a central aspect of his sprawling oeuvre. Each image in the spot series is testament to Hirst’s fascination for pure colour and geometry; his assertion that ‘The simplest, cleanest thing can provoke an emotional response.’¹

The present image, Bromobenzotrifluoride, is from a series of twelve colour woodcuts dating from 2010, which feature minimalist configurations of brightly coloured spots on a white ground. The precise hue of each spot is totally unique, such that it is not repeated within the same image or other works of the series. At the same time, the spots appear flawless in the regularity of their size, shape and alignment; the artist’s hand has been deliberately held at one remove.  

Each print in 12 Woodcut Spots bears the name of a pharmaceutical from Hirst’s copy of The Physicians’ Desk Reference – a trade listing of prescription drugs.² In this sense, the titling of these prints draws upon a central motif of Hirst’s art; that of pharmaceuticals and modern medicine. One of Hirst’s best-known works comprises a life-size replica of a pharmacy (Pharmacy 1992, Tate collection, London) – its walls lined with boxes and canisters of prescription drugs.³ For Hirst, pharmaceutical imagery and terminology are used to interrogate deeper issues of mortality, modernity, art and science.  

Footnotes:

1. Damien Hirst, quoted in ‘Damien Hirst: 12 Woodcut Spots,’ Andipa Editions, London, accessed May 2025: https://andipaeditions.com/damien-hirst-12-woodcut-spots/
2. Ibid.
3. Damien Hirst, Pharmacy 1992, room installation with found objects, Tate collection, London, purchased 1996

Catherine Baxendale

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