Damien Hirst Throws A Block Party

Damien Hirst, the highest paid living artist and most provocative of the YBAs, is becoming a free agent. The art world’s answer to Reggie Jackson says he will sell his latest body of work at auction, circumventing de rigueur gallery sales. “The world is changing,” said Hirst, and as always, he’s ahead of the curve.

Hirst is a rare breed–both artist and salesman. This isn’t the first time he’s stunned the art world with his business savvy (and his dead animals). Back in November of 2003, the artist bought back 12 of his seminal pieces from benefactor Charles Saatchi for $15 million. By owning his key early work, Hirst sought to control his own market, deciding which pieces to hold on to or place in museums or collections. Were these works to be sold en masse, as Saatchi is known to do, the value of his works could have taken a substantial hit. This past February, Hirst also opened a store on High Street called Other Criteria, designed to “democratize” art–or at least commoditize it.

His former rep Larry Gagosian isn’t showing any outward ire. He has already said he’ll attend the Sotheby’s auction in September, paddle in hand. Hirst is hoping to set some new sales records at the two-day affair, titled “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,” where enough art to constitute two gallery shows will be on the block. The pièce de résistance will be a bull submerged in formaldehyde—head crowned by a solid gold disc, hooves and horns cast in gold—inside a gold-plated stainless steel and glass box. The work, called “The Golden Calf,” is expected to fetch at least £12 million.

[via Slam X Hype]