Damien Hirst

Galeria Hilario Galguera, Mexico City
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2011

Other Criteria/Gagosian Gallery, Eds., Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, New York 2013, p. 460, illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is brighter and the background has a very subtle green undertone. Condition: This work is in very good condition. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Damien Hirst’s Cloridrato de Palonosetron is a consummate example of the artist’s famous spot paintings, originally conceived for the infamous Freeze exhibition of 1988 that put the generation of young British artists on the map, and one of the pillars of the artist’s illustrious practice ever since. Suspended over ten rows and nine columns, the painting captures a wide chromatic spectrum of brightly coloured dots, giving the work a punchy and visually striking impression that has become Hirst’s trademark.

Titled after the pharmaceutical name for a chemical compound, Cloridrato de Palonosetron reflects Hirst’s belief in science as the central authority of our contemporary age. Initially conceived alongside the medicine cabinets, the spot paintings are imbued with a sense of rationality, order and formal consistency that is reminiscent of scientific analysis. As the artist explains, "I started them as an endless series ... a scientific approach to painting in a similar way to the drug companies' scientific approach to life. Art doesn't purport to have all the answers; the drug companies do. Hence the title of the series, The Pharmaceutical Paintings, and the individual titles of the paintings themselves... Art is like medicine, it can heal." (Damien Hirst, I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now, London 1997, p. 246).

Infusing his work with an almost clinical sterility, Hirst’s spot painting aspire to the same life-giving promise of modern science – each dot symbolising the myriad pills that mankind has developed to sustain and cure the human body. The work therefore engages with one of the central themes in of Damien Hirst’s influential oeuvre – his incessant fixation with mortality. Although this has been a constant throughout his artistic production over the past three decades, the colourful appearance of the dot paintings simultaneously hides their heavy content, and makes them bright celebrations of life as well as death. As the artist explains this other perspective on the spot paintings: "the end result is always optimistic, no matter how I feel" (Ibid, pp. 250-251).