Damien Hirst himself has put oil to paper for his latest release with HENI.
On November 15, the artist’s “Paper Veils” series dropped on the art services company’s new marketplace, HENI Primary. The collection is essentially a downsized version of Hirst’s monumental “Veil Paintings” from 2017 which deployed thick brushstrokes and heavy impasto to appear as though Georges Seurat had painted furiously and without subject.
“Paper Veils” features 100 large works and 200 small works priced at $45,000 and $25,000 respectively. Unlike his much-produced spot paintings, Hirst’s own hand, rather than those of his myriad assistants, are responsible for his latest project with HENI.
“I want you to get lost in them, I want you to fall into them,” Hirst said in a statement. “I want them to delight your eyes and make you want to stay in the painting.”
A showing of the paintings at HENI’s London Soho gallery is running in parallel to the pre-sale period online which lasts until December 6.
Damien Hirst in studio, 2019. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd. © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2022.
HENI Primary’s goal, it seems, is to allow artists to bypass the gallery system by allowing them to release their work directly online.
“HENI Primary is our newest platform, built specifically for primary-market releases of original artworks,” a statement on its website reads. “HENI Primary enables artists to release original works of art on a dedicated digital platform, bringing the traditional fine-art experience online.”
To purchase work for HENI Primary’s inaugural sale, potential buyers are required to fill out an application through which they state their preference of artwork, list the details of their own art collection, and note their method of payment. After the submission period ends, HENI will review all the applications and select buyers, though how it makes its determinations isn’t exactly clear.
Damien Hirst at Newport Street Gallery for the grande finale of The Currency. Photo by Naomi Rea.
Last year, HENI platformed Hirst’s first move into the realm of NFTs on HENI NFT, in which the British artist offered NFTs that each connected to one of 10,000 Spot paintings. One year after a purchase, the collector could choose to between the blockchain token and the physical work with the rejected piece being burned. HENI NFT has since presented collections from JR and MadC.
HENI also boasts a publishing, a space for cultural conversation called HENI Talks, HENI Art Club, a membership arts community, and a merchandising arm.