Artist selects a spin painting and a triptych shown in his recent Seoul exhibition

British artist Damien Hirst has agreed to donate two works to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.

The proposed donation consists of a large spin painting completed in 1999 and a three-panel painting from 2008. Both works were included in Hirst’s recent solo exhibition at MMCA Seoul.

The 1999 work, whose Korean title translates as “Beautifully Exploding Reckless Pandemonium and Frenzy, Swirling Rainbows and a Volcano of Death Painting,” measures 365.8cm in diameter.

It belongs to Hirst’s “Spin Paintings” series, produced by pouring paint onto a rotating circular canvas. The movement of the surface disperses the paint through centrifugal force, creating overlapping bands and streams of color.

The second work, titled in Korean “Man Will Ultimately Be Unable to Know Anything,” is a triptych comprising three canvases, each measuring 203.2×129.5cm. The 2008 work reflects Hirst’s consideration of life, death and the limits of human knowledge following the deaths of people close to him.

The two paintings were shown in “Damien Hirst: Nothing Is True But Everything Is Possible,” held at MMCA Seoul from March 20 to June 28. Hirst selected the works himself and expressed his intention to donate them to the museum.

The acquisition has not yet been completed. MMCA has concluded its review of the proposed donation and is proceeding with the remaining formalities. The works will enter the museum’s collection once that process is complete.

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Jason Yim yimjongho1969@gmail.com