Name: The Cure (cream, aubergine, pea green)
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Damien Hirst’s The Cure (cream, aubergine, pea green) (signed) is estimated to be worth between £4,950 and £7,500. This screenprint, created in 2014, has shown consistent value growth, with an auction history of one sale on 9th December 2021. Over the past five years, the hammer price has ranged from £3,120 in August 2017 to £4,744 in August 2022. The current average annual growth rate is 6%. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 15.

Meaning & Analysis

The Cure (cream, aubergine, pea green) is a silkscreen print by Damien Hirst on Somerset Tub. Hirst produced this print in 2014 and in it, the artist depicts a large two-colour pill. Assuming the centre of the composition, the pill, which is rendered in a dark aubergine and bright pea green, stands out against the simple and plain coloured cream backdrop. On the top half of the pill, Hirst writes ‘this end up’ in faded, capitalised letters, accompanied by an arrow pointing upwards.

read more about The Cure

The Cure (cream, aubergine, pea green) is part of the cure series which is composed of thirty silkscreen prints. Each print depicts a pill rendered in a combination of two colours. In some of the prints, the pill is rendered in different tones of the same colour, whereas in others, the colours clash with one another or the print’s backdrop. The series is based on the minimalist aesthetic of the medicinal pill which, despite its simple appearance, behaves in an extremely complex and ingenious way. The simple design of pharmaceutical products reflects the confidence of the pharmaceutical industry and their ability to cure and health everyone and anything.

The Cure (cream, aubergine, pea green) and the wider series reflects Hirst’s fascination with modern society’s obsession with science, modern medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. By making a pharmaceutical product into art, Hirst blurs the boundaries between art and science in this print, demanding that we appreciate the art behind science.