Damien Hirst
Pridinol, from 12 Woodcut Spots, 2010
Woodcut in blue on 350 gsm Somerset White paper
12 inch spot
12 inch spot
96.2 × 91.4 cm
38 x 36 in.
38 x 36 in.
Edition of 24
Signed in pencil on the recto; numbered in pencil on the reverse
Unframed
Unframed
£12,000 GBP
From the edition of 24. Signed in pencil on the recto and numbered in pencil on the reverse. Published by The Paragon Press, London. Created in 2010, Pridinol forms part...
From the edition of 24. Signed in pencil on the recto and numbered in pencil on the reverse. Published by The Paragon Press, London.
Created in 2010, Pridinol forms part of Damien Hirst’s 12 Woodcut Spots, a group of prints that translates the visual language of his celebrated Spot Paintings into the traditional medium of woodcut. The series comprises individually titled works of differing dimensions and edition sizes, each named after a chemical compound and centred upon the apparently simple relationship between colour, form and space.
A single blue circle occupies the centre of the otherwise unmarked sheet. Its enlarged scale and isolated position recall a radically cropped section of one of Hirst’s multi-spot compositions, transforming an element normally encountered as part of a serial arrangement into an independent abstract form. The intensity of the blue is heightened by the surrounding expanse of white paper, while the slight material irregularities produced by the woodcut process soften the image’s apparent geometric precision.
Hirst began developing his Spot Paintings during the 1980s, presenting an early example in the 1988 exhibition Freeze. Their pharmaceutical titles connect the visual order of repeated coloured circles with systems of medicine, chemistry and scientific classification—subjects that recur throughout his wider practice. Pridinol is a pharmaceutical compound used as a muscle relaxant, although the title functions less as a literal description than as part of the impersonal scientific vocabulary assigned to Hirst’s spot works.
By translating the motif into woodcut, Hirst introduces the physical grain, pressure and slight variation of relief printing into a composition associated with mechanical regularity. The contrast between the image’s controlled geometry and the tactile nature of its production maintains a central tension within the Spot series: the works appear anonymous and systematic, yet each retains evidence of its individual manufacture. In Pridinol, this tension is concentrated into a single form of striking clarity and chromatic intensity.
A detailed condition report is available upon request.
Created in 2010, Pridinol forms part of Damien Hirst’s 12 Woodcut Spots, a group of prints that translates the visual language of his celebrated Spot Paintings into the traditional medium of woodcut. The series comprises individually titled works of differing dimensions and edition sizes, each named after a chemical compound and centred upon the apparently simple relationship between colour, form and space.
A single blue circle occupies the centre of the otherwise unmarked sheet. Its enlarged scale and isolated position recall a radically cropped section of one of Hirst’s multi-spot compositions, transforming an element normally encountered as part of a serial arrangement into an independent abstract form. The intensity of the blue is heightened by the surrounding expanse of white paper, while the slight material irregularities produced by the woodcut process soften the image’s apparent geometric precision.
Hirst began developing his Spot Paintings during the 1980s, presenting an early example in the 1988 exhibition Freeze. Their pharmaceutical titles connect the visual order of repeated coloured circles with systems of medicine, chemistry and scientific classification—subjects that recur throughout his wider practice. Pridinol is a pharmaceutical compound used as a muscle relaxant, although the title functions less as a literal description than as part of the impersonal scientific vocabulary assigned to Hirst’s spot works.
By translating the motif into woodcut, Hirst introduces the physical grain, pressure and slight variation of relief printing into a composition associated with mechanical regularity. The contrast between the image’s controlled geometry and the tactile nature of its production maintains a central tension within the Spot series: the works appear anonymous and systematic, yet each retains evidence of its individual manufacture. In Pridinol, this tension is concentrated into a single form of striking clarity and chromatic intensity.
A detailed condition report is available upon request.
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