Damien Hirst is the most prominent figure to emerge from the Young British Artists (YBAs) of the 1990s, building a career on a blunt, attention-grabbing ethos: make the biggest questions of life, death, belief, money, and medicine feel unavoidable. He helped shift contemporary art toward the logic of the “concept” as the work’s engine, using industrial fabrication and series formats (formaldehyde animals, medicine cabinets, spot paintings, butterfly works) to fuse spectacle with philosophical dread. At his best, the work turns clinical display into a memento mori for an age of branding and biotech.

Institutionally, Hirst is anchored by major museum presence; works are held by places like Tate and the Museum of Modern Art, and he’s also represented in collections such as The Broad. In recent years he’s kept a high public profile through large-scale projects and exhibitions, including major site takeovers and museum shows.

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