Abstract work “Fruitful H8-1” (2020) by Damien Hirst, limited edition giclée print

Damien Hirst has turned himself into his own brand – and a remarkably successful one at that. The painter and sculptor is now one of the most internationally renowned contemporary artists, exhibiting regularly in the world's leading art institutions, and collectors sometimes pay astronomical prices for his work. He secured public attention with spectacular and provocative installations such as the animal carcasses preserved in formaldehyde. With equally sensational works, such as a skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds, he kept himself in the (art) headlines. And Hirst has worked hard for his success: born in Bristol in 1965, he grew up in poverty. From 1986 to 1989, he studied at Goldsmiths College in London, organized the "Freeze" exhibition in 1988, which is considered the birth of the "Young British Artists," and received the prestigious Turner Prize in 1995.