Bromphenol Blue
Bromphenol Blue
Signed Print
Damien Hirst
£9,000-£13,000Value Indicator
$19,000-$27,000 Value Indicator
$17,000-$24,000 Value Indicator
¥90,000-¥130,000 Value Indicator
€10,500-€15,000 Value Indicator
$90,000-$130,000 Value Indicator
¥1,720,000-¥2,490,000 Value Indicator
$12,000-$17,000 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Intaglio
Edition size: 65
Year: 2005
Size: H 76cm x W 91cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Phillips London | United Kingdom | |||
| October 2024 | Strauss Online | South Africa | |||
| January 2020 | Wright | United States | |||
| December 2017 | Christie's New York | United States | |||
| September 2015 | Sotheby's London | United Kingdom | |||
| April 2015 | Phillips New York | United States | |||
| July 2014 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
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.
Damien Hirst, born in Bristol in 1965, is often hailed the enfant terrible of the contemporary art world. His provocative works challenge conventions and his conceptual brilliance spans installations, paintings, and sculptures, often exploring themes of mortality and the human experience. As a leading figure of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement in the late '80s, Hirst's work has dominated the British art scene for decades and has become renowned for being laced with controversy, thus shaping the dialogue of modern art.
