Damien Hirst (British, b. 1965)
Kindness (2011)
Silkscreen print with glaze
91.4 x 91.4 cm (36 x 36 inches)
Edition of 50 (+10 APs)
Screenprint with glaze on Somerset Satin paper, signed in pencil and numbered edition of 100, with the blindstamp of the artist and the publisher, Other Criteria, London, with full margins, framed.
PRICE: on request
Kindness belongs to Damien Hirst’s celebrated “Butterfly” series, a body of work that has become one of his most recognizable and enduring motifs. The composition radiates with kaleidoscopic symmetry, featuring vibrant butterfly wings meticulously arranged in concentric circles. At once naturalistic and geometric, the piece evokes the sacred geometry of mandalas, suggesting both the fragility of life and the eternal cycles of renewal.
Hirst’s butterflies are more than decorative: since the 1990s, they have functioned as metaphors for beauty, mortality, and transformation. Their short life spans contrast with the enduring preservation of their forms in art, offering a meditation on life’s fleeting nature and humanity’s attempt to arrest time. In Kindness, this tension is elevated by the dazzling repetition, creating both harmony and spiritual resonance.
Context Within Hirst’s Oeuvre
The butterfly has been a central symbol in Hirst’s career, from early “Kaleidoscope” paintings to monumental works such as In and Out of Love (1991). The screenprint editions produced with his London imprint Other Criteria allowed Hirst to bring this imagery to a wider audience while maintaining the same precision and intensity as his original paintings.
Kindness (2011) exemplifies Hirst’s continued exploration of mortality and transcendence through abstraction. This period saw the artist refining his butterfly works with heightened chromatic intensity and formal perfection, cementing them as some of the most sought-after pieces within his graphic oeuvre.
Market Context
Within Damien Hirst’s print market, butterfly silkscreens from this period consistently rank among his most desirable editions. Their appeal lies in their vibrant palettes, meticulous craftsmanship, and resonance with his broader themes of life, death, and spirituality.
- Comparable butterfly screenprints from the early 2010s have sold strongly at auction, with prices reflecting both scale and complexity of composition.
- Works in this size (36 x 36 in), from editions of 50, tend to command significant attention due to their relative rarity and iconic status within Hirst’s body of prints.
- The glaze finish further enhances the luminosity of the image, distinguishing it from flat graphic works and situating it closer to the painterly qualities of the original “Kaleidoscope” canvases.
Given its scale, rarity, and the enduring popularity of the butterfly motif, Kindness holds strong positioning within the Hirst print market—an opportunity for collectors seeking a work that bridges the artist’s conceptual rigor and decorative allure.
