Damien Hirst needs no introduction. The artist returns with a series of new works presented at Phillips, in London. This exhibition features oil-on-canvas paintings from three series by the artist titled Coast Paintings, Sea Paintings, and Seascapes, many of which have never before been seen publicly. 

Coast Paintings is a series of abstract action paintings named after British seaside locations. These paintings began their life as grey canvases which were laid on the floor of Hirst’s studio while he painted his acclaimed Cherry Blossoms series, catching the ricochets of paint intended for the blossoms. Recognising the beauty of these chance colour splatters, Hirst developed these canvases into a series of paintings. Sea Paintings marks the latest iteration in Hirst’s long-established practice of producing paintings after photographs, freezing in greyscale the power and energy of coastal storms. Seascapes uses the photorealistic scenes of Sea Paintings as the basis onto which Hirst creates additional and tactile layers of action through splattered paint.

The works are inspired by the artist’s pastime of walking on the beach and watching the sea, most recently in the United Kingdom during the winter, and draw influence from Abstract Expressionism, specifically Robert Motherwell’s Beside the Sea paintings from the 1960s. Where the Land Meets the Sea coincides with a drop on the HENI Primary digital platform.

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