Damien Hirst
Biography:
Iconic British contemporary artist known for provocative works exploring themes of death, science, and religion.
He is often called the "bad boy" of British contemporary art: the works of Damien Hirst, true icons of the beginning of the 21st century, have left their mark on the collective mind.
Damien Steven Hirst was born in 1965 in Bristol, England and grew up in Leeds. In 1984 he moved to London where he started working in construction. He studied at the Leeds College of Art between 1983 and 1985. He was not admitted at the Saint Martins School of Art, but in 1986 he was admitted at Goldsmiths College of Art where he studied until 1989, with professor Michael Craig-Martin among others.
Damien Hirst began to think about the "unacceptable idea of death" during his teenage years. At Goldsmiths he started some of his most important series, such as the medicine cabinets. His observation that "science is the new religion for many people", is an idea that will be very present in his work.