b. 1965, Bristol, England

Damien Hirst studied at Goldsmiths College in London and first came to public attention in 1988 when he conceived and curated “Freeze,” an exhibition of his work and that of his friends and fellow students at Goldsmiths. Hirst has since become one of the most prominent artists of his generation and many of his works are widely recognized, from the shark suspended in formaldehyde and The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), through to later works such as the diamond skull For the Love of God (2007). Hirst uses the iconography of science and religion, creating sculptures and paintings whose beauty and intensity offer the viewer insight into art that transcends our familiar understanding of those domains. His work calls into question our awareness and convictions about the boundaries that separate desire and fear, life and death, reason and faith, love and hate.