Elizabeth Prendiville of SaffronArt announces the newest Damien Hirst exhibition “Relic” in Qatar

New York: Controversial, price-boosting artist Damien Hirst will debut his solo exhibition “Relic” in Qatar this Fall from October 10^th– January 22^nd. In addition to this being Hirst’s first show in the middle east it will be his largest thus far in his career. “Relic” will be produced by Qatar Museums Authority at the Alriwaq Doha exhibition space and curated by Italian art writer, curator and critic Francesco Bonami.  Prior to taking on this exhibition, Bonami has had a wildly successful career with highlights including his role as the artistic director of the Venice Biennale in 2003.

“Relic” will serve as a retrospective of the last twenty-five years of Hirst’s career. It will debut new and unseen works as well as display signature pieces such as his formaldehyde animals from “Human Nature” and his controversial diamond encrusted skull “For the Love Of God”.  Although Hirst himself is from the UK, these notorious iconographic pieces have contributed to his illustrious career and reputation in the international art scene.

Throughout this past year, Qatar’s art scene has shown a trend of depicting the dialogue between the Middle East art market and the UK market. Hirst’s blockbuster exhibition will serve as a culmination of the “Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture”.

Hirst has inspired a flux in the high-end art market both in the UK and internationally.  This quality makes his show ideal for Qatar, a country with the highest per capita income in the world. This strong and ever-growing art market makes it the ideal location for Hirst to display his work.

Funding for the exhibition comes from the Sheikha Al-Mayassa who Art + Auction named the most powerful person in the art world in 2011.  The Qatar art market’s environment, similar to the price driven world of Gagosian, will be the ideal setting for Hirst to thrive.

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