Bromphenol Blue
Bromphenol Blue
Signed Print
Damien Hirst
Intaglio, 2005
Signed Print Edition of 65
H 76cm x W 91cm
Critical Review
This signed woodcut from 2005 is a limited edition of 65 from Damien Hirst’s Bromphenol Blue and Xylene Cyanol Dye Solution; Pyronin Y and Ethidium Bromide Aqueous Solution series. The print shows many spots, methodically arranged into rows and each depicted in a unique colour.
Discussing the spot paintings more broadly, Hirst has explained, “I believe all painting and art should be uplifting for the viewer. I love colour. I feel it inside me. It gives me a buzz.” Deceptively simple and joyous, Bromphenol Blue recalls the absurdity of Dadaism and gently mocks the processes of pointillist painting. The crisp edges and formulaic composition convey a lack of human touch, despite the fact that these works are laborious and painting to produce. For many of the spot paintings throughout his career, Hirst employed assistants to produce them.
The composition is a tight knit mesh of spots set against a plain white backdrop, the bright and round coloured spots bright and buzzing. The colour and arrangement appear to be seemingly random and with infinite possibilities in their display. Fascinated by intuitive colour choice from his days at Goldsmiths, Hirst claims that the spot paintings have removed any problems he previously had with colour, allowing him to present a perfect arrangement of colour that is never repeated.
