Damien Hirst

Gagosian Gallery, Rome
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2012

Jason Beard and Millicent Wilner, eds., The Complete Spot Paintings, 1986-2011, Damien Hirst, London 2013, p. 585, illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Visible only upon extremely close inspection, there is a tiny and unobtrusive media accretion to the left of the fourth spot on the second row from the lower right corner. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Selected works from the Collection of Ernesto Esposito

Deeply serious but often with a light-hearted humorous twist; conceptual but with a persistent Pop art influence; classic yet always with a keen eye on a younger generation; but above all, highly personal. The present selection of works from the collection of Ernesto Esposito represents the true spirit of a private collector whose commitment and passion for art has followed him throughout his life, both privately and professionally. The stories of the Ernesto Esposito shoe designer, whose celebrated work influenced the biggest names in fashion (including Marc Jacobs, Chloé, Louis Vuitton and Sergio Rossi), and Ernesto Esposito the contemporary art collector, who has amassed one of the most prestigious collections of contemporary art, meeting artists like Andy Warhol, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Joseph Beuys in the process, are inextricably intertwined - and perfectly represented by the present selection of works.

Having started collecting contemporary art at the very young age of eighteen, Mr Esposito has collected for most of his life. However, his attitude towards post-war classics such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Jannis Kounellis is essentially the same as towards the recent video art of Jordan Wolfson or Cory Arcangel. Quoting the radio presenter Alain Parisse, Esposito explains: “old age begins when your attachment to the past exceeds your excitement for the future.” If his passion for art is clearly eclectic, spanning from the 1950s to works made last year and including everything from the rigid conceptualism of Joseph Kosuth to the colourful figurative paintings of George Condo, the collection also stands as a testament to Esposito’s vibrant personality and constant excitement about new artists. Not destined for the stark white cube spaces of institutional galleries, but hung in the tastefully designed interior of the owner’s house, the collection captures his excitement about living with art and the feeling of being amongst such striking aesthetics and thought-provoking conceptual work. This deeply personal commitment to art is reflected in the works that were commissioned from the artists directly, including portraits by Michelangelo Pistoletto, Helmut Newton and one of the last portraits made by Andy Warhol before he died. Even Jack Pierson’s Cara Domani, which translates as Dear Tomorrow, counts as a portrait of its owner, who is always looking ahead. Whilst his art reflects his personal life, it is also of great importance to Esposito’s professional life and has influenced his work in fashion. Besides collecting many artists who shared his passion for fashion (including Warhol and Newton) their work also inspired the designs of Ernesto Esposito shoes - in some cases literally incorporating elements of paintings into the designs.

Presented across the Italian, the Contemporary Art Evening and Day sales, the present selection of sixty-one lots offers a rich spectrum of work by post-war and contemporary artists across widely varying practices, styles and mediums. Each work is purposefully selected for its importance both within the specific artist’s oeuvre and art history. Included in the Italian sale are two of the most classic works of the collection: Jannis Kounellis’ important Untitled from 1959-60 and Michelangelo Pistoletto’s captivating portrait of Ernesto Esposito. Leading the Evening sale group is Warhol’s iconic depiction of the Vesuvius, simultaneously capturing the artist’s profound interest in death and his signature visually powerful imagery - which is also personally relevant to Esposito, whose family lived close to the volcano in the city of Naples. Further works in this group form include outstanding works by Sean Scully, George Condo, Howard Hodgkin and Ilya Kabakov. The works in the Contemporary Art Day auction give a further insight into Ernesto Esposito’s personal tastes, with interesting pairings of works by Robert Rauschenberg and Dan Colen - both of whom explored the use of trash as an artistic medium, and which were hung opposite each other in the collector’s apartment in Rome. The history of American Pop Art and its influences is very well represented with works by Mel Ramos, Alex Katz, John Baldessari, Richard Prince and Cory Arcangel. Aesthetically beautiful but also rich in concept, another vein of the collection focuses heavily on artists such as Daniel Buren, Joseph Kosuth, Joseph Beuys and Martin Creed. All lived with across the collector’s homes, this personal collection is a lesson in Contemporary Art History and how mediums, movements and generations all intertwine in the history of art in the 20^th and 21^st century.

Clearly showing the passion with which the collection was put together, Selected works from the Collection of Ernesto Esposito presents a fascinating insight into the life of one of today’s most influential contemporary art collectors, as well as a great overview of key trends in contemporary art over the past fifty years. With masterpieces by blue chip artists such as Andy Warhol and Jannis Kounellis, historically overlooked artists like Salvatore Emblema, Georg Herold and Shozo Shimamoto, rare paintings by Steven Shearer and sought-after works by Richard Prince and Mel Ramos, the present selection of works constitutes a truly fascinating group.

Damien Hirst’s Nucleohistone  is a consummate example of the artist’s famous spot paintings, originally conceived for the infamous Freeze exhibition of 1988 that put the generation of young British artists on the map, and one of the pillars of the artist’s illustrious practice ever since. Titled after a chemical compound, Nucleohistone reflects Hirst’s belief in science as the central authority of our contemporary age. Initially conceived alongside the medicine cabinets, the spot paintings are imbued with a sense of rationality, order and formal consistency that is reminiscent of scientific analysis. As the artist explains, "I started them as an endless series ... a scientific approach to painting in a similar way to the drug companies' scientific approach to life. Art doesn't purport to have all the answers; the drug companies do. Hence the title of the series, The Pharmaceutical Paintings, and the individual titles of the paintings themselves... Art is like medicine, it can heal." (Damien Hirst, I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now, London 1997, p. 246).

Infusing his work with an almost clinical sterility, Hirst’s spot painting aspire to the same life-giving promise of modern science – each dot symbolising the myriad pills that mankind has developed to sustain and cure the human body. The work therefore engages with one of the central themes in of Damien Hirst’s influential oeuvre – his incessant fixation with mortality. Although this has been a constant throughout his artistic production over the past three decades, the colourful appearance of the dot paintings simultaneously hides their heavy content, and makes them bright celebrations of life as well as death. As the artist explains this other perspective on the spot paintings: "the end result is always optimistic, no matter how I feel" (Ibid, pp. 250-251).