Damien Hirst Paints "Cherry Blossoms" in Fondation Cartier Show

After presenting readymades and realist paintings at Gagosian’s London outpost, Damien Hirst is getting ready for his first solo museum show in France at the Fondation Cartier. Entitled “Cherry Blossoms,” the presentation features a selection of vivid large- and small-scale paintings portraying gestural renderings of the Eurasian floral. Applying heavy layers of paint, the artist pays homage to the masters of impressionism and pointillism. The acclaimed British artist is set to unveil a total of 107 canvasses from the series.

“The monumental canvases, which are entirely covered in dense bright colours, envelope the viewer in a vast floral landscape moving between figuration and abstraction,” said the museum in a statement. “The ‘Cherry Blossoms’ are at once a subversion and homage to the great artistic movements of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.” The artist describes the process of this series as “diving into the paintings and completely blitzing them from one end to the other.”

Accompanying the paintings is a selection of films made in collaboration between the museum and Hirst. One of those films was shot over several months, allowing visitors to observe the artist’s process at his Thames-based studio. A second film, captured in 360 degrees, will allow visitors to immerse themselves in another studio.

“Cherry Blossoms” will be on view from July 6 until January 2, 2022. Head to Fondation Cartier’s website for more information.

Elsewhere in art, Alexander May of OFFSITE.STUDIO is curating a selection of art objects as part of a star-studded group exhibition called “SIZED.”

Fondation Cartier
261 Boulevard Raspail
Paris 75014
France