Ukranian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk has revealed he was a major buyer at Damien Hirst's record-breaking $200 million Sotheby's sale last month, but has declined to say exactly what he purchased. Pinchuk, who's worth an estimated $5 billion, has his own museum in Kiev, the first private institution of its kind in the former Soviet Union, which already houses works by Hirst, Jeff Koons and Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami. He says he plans to display his new Hirst acquisitions at the Pinchuk Center in the spring.

"Victor Pinchuk is having a great impact on the [art] market," Simon de Pury, chairman of auction house Phillips de Pury & Co., who credits him with starting the oligarch art collecting trend, tells Bloomberg. "The contemporary art market in both Ukraine and Russia has really taken off in the past two years, and I expect this growth to continue." Earlier this year Pinchuk paid a record $150 million for a house in London, the world's most expensive at the time.

Art world provocateur Damien Hirst just raked in a staggering $200.8 million in total over his two-day solo sale at Sotheby's in London, shattering pre-sale estimates. The dollar figure set a new world record for an auction dedicated to a single artist, Reuters reports. Fittingly enough since Hirst recently compared himself to Picasso, the previous solo sale record was set in 1993 at a Picasso auction; Hirst's total is ten times as large.

Although buyers of works such as the gold-dipped bull which went for nearly $18 million have not been identified, we're guessing the name of one Roman Abramovich will soon surface, especially since his hot young gallery-owning girlfriend Dasha Zhukova was given a personal, private tour of the Sotheby's inventory by Hirst himself prior to the event. In any case the jackpot should help shore up Hirst's claim that he is now a bona fide billionaire.

Bad boy Brit artist Damien Hirst smashed his previous auction record with the $18.5 million sale of a gold tipped bull in formaldehyde on the first day of his major solo sale at Sotheby's in London Monday. Entitled The Golden Calf, the controversial artist's work exceeded the top end of its estimate by over $4 million, and toppled the previous record of $17.4 million paid for a Hirst work last summer, Bloomberg reports. The buyer's identity is unknown at this time.

Elsewhere in day one of the sale, a shark in formaldehyde work entitled The Kingdom was hammered down for $17.2 million - over $7 million above the high end of its pre-sale estimate. The piece in question is about half the size of the pickled shark which was sold to billionaire Steven Cohen for $8 million in 2005. The figures have many in the contemporary art world breathing a sigh of relief, as the landmark auction is seen as a bellwether of the much-hyped market's prospects in an uncertain economy.

On the eve of a major auction of his work at Sotheby's in London, Damien Hirst's manager says the controversial Brit artist has become a billionaire - while one of the world's foremost art critics says he's little more than a no-talent huckster. Hirst's business manager Frank Dunphy says he is now the "biggest dollar earner in the history of art" with a net worth of $1 billion, which would make him one of the richest men in the UK, the London Times reports.

Dunphy says that in addition to his art, Hirst has invested heavily in real estate, and now has so many properties he's lost track of the exact number, which he estimates at between 30 and 40. These include a $5 million country house in Gloucester and a couple of Georgian houses in London's chic Mayfair district. If accurate, the $1 billion figure means Hirst's wealth has been vastly underestimated to date. The London Sunday Times 2008 Rich List calculated his fortune at only $350 million.

The Sotheby's sale today is expected to bring in at least $120 million. And like Picasso, Hirst says his signature alone is now worth a lot of money. "Someone in a gallery in New York told me the other day that my signature is worth $350," he tells the London Evening Standard. "It's actually something they can define. That means if I sign a check in a restaurant and it's for $250 the check is actually worth more than the bill comes to. On that level, yeah, maybe I am in the same position as Picasso. If you believe all that shit."

One person who emphatically does not believe "all that shit" is world-renowned art critic Robert Hughes. He has labeled Hirst's work "absurd" and "tacky commodities" in a new art world documentary airing in the UK later this month, the London Telegraph reports. Hughes singled out Hirst's famed shark in formaldehyde, entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, for particular criticism, calling it "the world's most overrated marine organism."

As we reported earlier this month, Hirst himself has said he's sick of some of the work he's become rich and famous for and plans to pursue other artistic avenues. In any case, Hirst has at least garnered the admiration of Vanity Fair which ranks him at No. 31 on their new list of the world's most powerful and influential people, putting him ahead of moguls like Sumner Redstone.

British art world bad boy Damien Hirst, probably the world's most successful living artist, says he's getting sick of his own work. Hirst says the upcoming major auction of his work at Sotheby's in London later this month, which is expected to bring in about $120 million, will mark the end of some of his signature techniques, including ones that brought him fame and fortune in the first place. (Some cynics say the pieces aren't selling as well as they used to).

Except for a few pieces he's currently finishing up, Hirst says he will no longer be producing any of his famed formaldehyde works, such as the shark and cow series, nor will he continue with the spot and spin paintings he's so well known for. Explaining the change, Hirst credits his friend Joe Strummer, late frontman of The Clash: "It's like [Joe] once told me about writing songs," the artists says. "If you can guess what the rhyme's gonna be in the next line, then it's shit and you've gotta change it."

British artist Marc Quinn has cast a life-size solid gold statue of Kate Moss, valued at $2.7 million and said to be the world's largest gold statue made since the days of Ancient Egypt.

The statue, entitled Siren, is a larger, golden version of his 2006 marble statue of Moss, Sphinx, in a provocative yoga pose. Sphinx weighs in at 110 pounds, which is probably quite close to Moss' actual weight.

Quinn's work "deals with the distanced relationship we have with our bodies," according to his gallery's bio, "highlighting how the conflict between the 'natural' and 'cultural' has a grip on the contemporary psyche." Moss is "the ideal beauty of the moment," the artist tells Vogue UK.

Siren will be on display alongside works by Damien Hirst and others at the British Museum in London for its Satuephilia show running from Oct. 4 - Jan. 25. See the gallery for more examples of Quinn's work.

Last year, artist Damien Hirst exhibited his diamond skull piece "For the Love of God" while he was shopping for a buyer. Hirst eventually bought the piece along with a group of investors for its $100 million asking price. Now the piece is on the road again. The Netherlands' national museum will exhibit the diamond and platinum skull for six weeks starting November 1. The piece is decorated with 8,601 diamonds and allegedly takes its name from Hirst's mother's exclamation when she heard what her son was up to.

Prolific and controversial artist Damien Hirst is no stranger to commerce. He has created a line for Levi's and sells his own bracelets, paint kits and other items. But his next rumored collaboration is intriguing. Fashion Week Daily reports that Hirst may be working with Vertu on a new luxury phone. Vertu has created lines with car brands and jewelers but they haven't worked with an artist yet. Certainly Hirst, who once covered a skull in diamonds, is no stranger to bedazzlement so the two should get on perfectly.

Compared to his diamond-covered skull, Damien Hirst's latest work for sale, a bull in formaldehyde, with a head crowned by a solid-gold disc, and hooves and horns cast in 18-karat gold is practically a deal. The Golden Calf will be auctioned off at Sotheby's in New York in September and is estimated to bring in $16 to $24 million. The calf comes in a gold-plated stainless steel and glass box. The monumental piece is part of Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, a major auction of new works by Hirst, on September 15 and 16. The auction will include formaldehyde sculptures, new paintings, new cabinets and preparatory drawings,

George Michael didn't buy Damien Hirst's diamond skull but he and his partner Kenny Goss have spent plenty on other pieces of contemporary art including many works by Damien Hirst. They are currently displaying works by Damien Hirst in a Dallas, Texas gallery. The Goss-Michael Foundation's exhibition includes "Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain," featuring a black calf whose body has been pierced with dozens of arrows and "The Incomplete Truth" which shows a dove in formaldehyde. Goss, who has been with George Michael for 12 years, is a native Texan. The pair enjoying collecting art in Britain and then bringing it to Dallas, previous exhibitions have featured James White and a tribute to Tracey Emin.

Last night I popped over to the Fred Segal store in Santa Monica to check out the Warhol Factory x Levi's x Damien Hirst pop-up store. The small store within a store will be open for two months. The store features items from the denim collection, which feature jeans, jackets, t-shirts and shorts that feature some of Damien Hirst's favorite symbols such as crystal skulls, multicolored dots and crosses. The clothing starts at around $120 for the colorful skull T-shirts. The little pop up store is done up in silver with two examples of paint covered Levis hanging behind glass. Levi's documented the Hirst collaboration in a 224-page glossy book. The book includes a foreword by Interview's past editor Ingrid Sischy, an interview with Damien Hirst and fashion photography featuring Vincent Gallo. The book sells for $200 for the hardbound book or $300 for the book with a plexiglass and metal display box. My pictures from last night are in the gallery below.

Even if you're not able to afford an actual Damien Hirst on your wall, you can have a decorating scheme that includes an entire wall inspired by his art for a much more reasonable investment. Polka dots make for a whimsical and upbeat wall treatment in the form of dot decals. Each Sweet 16 package from blik includes 16 Damien Hirst inspired dots of all different colors (with fun names like lemon, cotton candy pink and kiwi) for putting up in a grid pattern or any other way you like (confetti explosion perhaps?). The Sweet 16 cannot be custom ordered, but if you're inspired to make your own masterpiece you can create a personalized mix of colors with blik's Classic Dots instead.



Via Daily Dose

You are probably familiar with (RED) the charity which has raised millions of dollars for HIV/AIDs treatment through a variety of commerce-related tie-ins such as sneakers, watches, clothing and gadgets from retailers that include Armani, the Gap and Motorola. Much of the money from Project (RED) has been given to The Global Fund which saves lives by providing resources for countries struggling against the spread of disease.

The latest (RED) project is designed to tempt well-heeled art collectors. Artist Damien Hirst has put his considerable skills of promotion to good use by inviting more than 100 artists to contribute to an auction to benefit (RED), The auction will be held on Valentine's Day next year in New York. The pieces are inspired by the color red and dedicated to raising awareness of HIV/AIDS. Contributing artists include Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, Matthew Barney, Georg Baselitz, Cecily Brown, Douglas Gordon and of course Hirst himself who has contributed seven works including a red heart-shaped butterfly painting entitled All You Need is Love.

Money raised by the auction will go directly to The Global Fund. You may not be able to buy a Hirst original but any donation to The Global Fund is worthwhile. The Global Fund has might great strides in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. All of your donation will go to the Global Fund and its programs with no portion being diverted for administrative costs by the United Nations Foundation.

[via AP]

A preview of some of the works was held on December 5. Pictures are below in the gallery.

Damien Hirst, the world's most expensive living artist, is going green in a major way: he recently placed an order for Britain's second largest solar panel system. The system will be used to switch his Gloucestershire country home and studios over to total solar power. I can imagine he's got a lot of electricity needs for his entire estate, but I'm wondering if a 310 watt system (enough power to supply electricity to the equivalent of over 150 homes and will account for 2% of the entire country's solar power) isn't a bit overkill?

I guess it should be no surprise that the most expensive living artist has very valuable doodles. This was proven recently when Damien Hirst did a little ink sketch on a linen napkin from The Ivy restaurant. It's a depiction of his diamond-encrusted skull, plus a couple of steaming coffee cups in the eye sockets and, of course, the all-important Hirst signature. He donated the sketch to MacMillan Cancer Relief's "coffee art" auction, where it sold to a private collector for £18,000.

So do you think it was really just a doodle? Or a creative way to come up with something for the auction?

Via Lussorian