ARKEN has received a donation from The Merla Art Foundation, London, founded by Dennis and Jytte Merla Dresing, consisting of a total of eight works by the world-famous British artist Damien Hirst (b. 1965). This means that ARKEN’s collection has been enriched with a fine representation of one of the absolutely central artists of recent times. Damien Hirst’s works raise existential questions of mankind’s position in the universe.
One of the major works in the donation is Damien Hirst’s biggest ‘spot painting’ to date, 2-Amino-5-Bromobenzotrifluoride (2011), created specifically for this room. The artist has now worked with this series for twenty-five years.
Besides the works donated, the Damien Hirst Room shows works from ARKEN’s collection as well as two of the artist’s major works: Love’s Paradox (Surrender or Autonomy, Separateness as a Precondition for Connection) (2007), courtesy of the Artist and White Cube, and Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain (2006), Private Collection, courtesy White Cube.