An artist of great extravagance , Damien Hirst’s memorable works through his illustrious career have included a $100 million diamond encrusted skull and formaldehyde preserved sharks. With the changing art landscape, Damien Hirst attempts to strike a balance between his involvement with galleries and the sale of art via auctions with 223 pieces of art produced between 2007 and 2008 and valued at £65 million (approximately $121 million USD) set for the auction block on September 15th and 16th via Sotheby’s London. Based on previous experiences, Hirst had this to say regarding the auction route, “After the success of the Pharmacy auction, I always felt I would like to do another auction. It’s a very democratic way to sell art and it feels like a natural evolution for contemporary art. Although there is risk involved, I embrace the challenge of selling my work in this way. I never want to stop working with my galleries. This is different. The world’s changing, ultimately I need to see where this road leads.” Among the pieces, four of them will be sold to benefit the following charities, The Demelza, Hospice Care for Children, Survival International, Strummerville and Kids Company, with each hoping to rake in between £400,000-600,000 each (approximately $750K USD - $1.1 million USD). The whole list of art can be seen over at Sothebys.com.

Source: Slam X Hype, Art News Blog