In an unprecedented short-circuit between ancient and contemporary, Damien Hirst exhibits his works among those in the Galleria Borghese collection in an exhibition coming up in June
Mark 8 June in red on your calendar. It will be the day the Galleria Borghese in Rome reopens its doors with a new exhibition dedicated to the bad boy of contemporary art, Damien Hirst. Anna Coliva and Mario Codognato curate Archaeology now (8 June – 7 November 2021), the exhibition that invades the gallery’s rooms and places the works of the British artist alongside masterpieces of antiquity in an unprecedented dialogue. The project became a reality thanks to the generous support of Prada, which has always been close to artistic research in contemporary scenarios.
All of Hirst’s works at the Galleria Borghese: from small sculptures to colossal works
Monumental sculptures and small works, bronze, Carrara marble, malachite… Throughout his career, Damien Hirst has experimented with forms, materials and techniques, as in a contemporary cabinet of curiosities. These works will now be exhibited in the rooms of the Galleria Borghese, alongside classical Roman statuary, sculptures by Canova and Bernini, as well as masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and 17th century painting from the museum’s collections.
On the other hand, the gallery itself presents a precious decoration in marble, stucco and mosaics; an original setting for Hirst, who in turn will enrich the rooms with the multiplicity of his inventions. This highlights the artist’s ability to combine concepts and narratives, spanning centuries of art history.
The works of Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable return to Italy, following the exhibition in Venice in 2017. On that occasion, Hirst had played with different materials with exceptional technical skill. Corals, semi-precious stones, bronzes now re-proposed in the gallery’s setting, which seem to respond in a contemporary key to the desire of its founder, Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Indeed, he aspired to create a multiform collection, capable of transcending the categories not only between the arts, but between reality and fiction.
In addition to these works, the Colour Space paintings come to Italy for the first time. These are an evolution of the Spot Paintings series, where Hirst allows the infiltration of “human elements”. He defines these works as “microscopic cells” floating in space in motion, constantly colliding, contradicting the stasis of the canvas and breaking the idea of a unified image.
Finally, the colossal Hydra and Kali can be admired – strictly with the nose turned upwards – in the outdoor space of the Secret Garden of the Bird House.
Text by Yasmin Riyahi
