Special Projects

Damien Hirst

Archaeology now

8 June – 7 November 2021
GALLERIA BORGHESE
Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5
Rome
Tuesday to Sunday
9 am – 7 pm

With the aim of developing innovative languages and projects, in a continuous dialogue with the broader scenarios of contemporaneity, Prada sponsors 'DAMIEN HIRST Archaeology now', the new exhibition at Galleria Borghese, Rome, curated by Anna Coliva and Mario Codognato.

Over 80 works from the Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable series, made with different materials - natural, technological and precious - such as bronze, Carrara marble and malachite, are exhibited in the rooms of the museum, flanking the statuary and pictorial masterpieces of the Roman gallery in a project that shows the incredible ability of the artist to combine concepts and narratives.
The exhibition also presents a group of paintings from Hirst’s 2016 series titled Colour Space that shows the infiltration, in Hirst’s words, of “human elements”.
His colossal sculpture, Hydra and Kali, is displayed outdoors in the Giardino Segreto of the Uccelliera.

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The Galleria Borghese Museum houses and displays a collection of ancient sculptures, bas-reliefs, and mosaics, as well as paintings and sculptures dating from the 15th through the 19th centuries. The works are displayed in the 20 frescoed rooms that, together with the portico and the entrance hall, constitute the spaces of the Museum open to the public.

About the artist

Damien Hirst was born in 1965 in Bristol, grew up in Leeds, and from 1986 to 1989 studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in London. Since the late 1980s, Hirst has created installations, sculptures, paintings, and drawings that explore the complex relationships between art, beauty, religion, science, life, and death. With his works he investigates and challenges contemporary belief systems, and dissects the uncertainties at the heart of human experience.

Photographed by Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2021

Labels of the artworks featured in the photo gallery

Damien Hirst
Hydra and Kali 
2015
Bronze
Private collection
Ph. by A. Novelli © Galleria Borghese – Ministero della Cultura © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2021/SIAE 2021

Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Ratto di Proserpina
1621-1622
White marble
and
Damien Hirst
Grecian Nude 
2013
Bronze
Private collection
Ph. by A. Novelli © Galleria Borghese – Ministero della Cultura © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2021/SIAE 2021

Damien Hirst
Female Archer
2013
Bronze
Private collection
Ph. by A. Novelli © Galleria Borghese – Ministero della Cultura © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2021/SIAE 2021

Damien Hirst
Reclining Woman
2012
Pink marble
Private collection
Ph. by A. Novelli © Galleria Borghese – Ministero della Cultura © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2021/SIAE 2021

Damien Hirst
Neptune 
2011
Blue bronze
Private collection
Ph. by A. Novelli © Galleria Borghese – Ministero della Cultura © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2021/SIAE 2021

Damien Hirst
Neptune 
2011
Lapis lazuli and white agate
Private collection
Ph. by A. Novelli © Galleria Borghese – Ministero della Cultura © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2021/SIAE 2021

Damien Hirst
Fern Court 
2016
Household gloss on canvas
Private collection
Ph. by A. Novelli © Galleria Borghese – Ministero della Cultura © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2021/SIAE 2021