“The Souls” by Damien Hirst

“The Souls” 2010 ©Damien Hirst

Paul Stolper Gallery is exhibiting from the 7^th of October and until the 13^th of November 2010, a collection of prints by Damien Hirst entitled “The Souls”. The collection features a very large selection of butterflies created in 3 colour foil blocks and aimed at illustrating the importance of religious faith around one of his favourite themes: “Mortality”. 
On opening night, a large crowd made its way down to the Paul Stolper Gallery in Central London, to see Damien Hirst’s latest creations. Dazed and amazed at the sheer number of butterflies in the gallery, trying to capture the essence of this beautiful exhibition, many an individual duly noted the similarity of the gallery to Andy Warhol’s famously framed flowers. “I’ve always liked pictures of the Warhol show where he hung all the small flower paintings all over the gallery. I hope that this show will have a similar kind of feel. The butterflies will look like people, individual and unique ? everybody’s trying to get to heaven I guess …or hell.“ he said before hand to the gallery owner’s . It was a success. The experience was one of sheer pleasure and rich in symbolism. In many different cultures, such as the Japanese, the Chinese, the Greek and Russian, butterflies are the symbols of human souls. They represent the living and the dead. Walking through the crowd of people, to admire the prints on the walls, the number of souls in the gallery was quite impressive.   

  The gallery transformed itself into Damien Hirst’s canvas with 120 framed butterflies in a multitude of different tones. There were butterflies up and down the walls, left and right and center. The butterfly prints had one of four different shapes, and were printed with foil in 80 different combinations. Variations in hue, saturation, and contrasting colours, resulted in an amazing selection of frames. The fragility, frailty, and dreamy nature of those creatures was enhanced through the selected material , the lighting and the various dispositions of the frames around the gallery. Whatever you do, this is one exhibition not to miss! 

British creative artist Damien Hirst is renowned for his focus on religious themes in relation to the human condition, as well as for his impact for and within the creative world of British contemporary art. Said to be the “world’s most famous living artist”, he has won many an award and participated in many a group exhibition in the UK and abroad. The prints are published in joint collaboration by Paul Stolper and Other Criteria. Each of these prints is available for purchase in limited editions, and signed by the artist. All you need to do, is find a favourite (if you can!). 

Leila NABIH (Leila@luxsure.fr) 

For more information : Paul Stolper Gallery, 31 Museum St, London, WC1A 1LH – www.paulstolper.com & Other Criteria :  www.othercriteria.com