“Archaeology Now” is the title of a Damien Hurst exhibition that opened on Tuesday 8 June 2021 at the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The exhibition contains 80 of the artist’s sculptures and will last until 7 November.
Damien Hirst exhibition Rome (Galleria Borghese, 2021)
Useful information
Opening date: June 8, 2021. Closing date: November 7, 2021. Address: Galleria Borghese, Piazzale del Museo Borghese, 5 – Rome. Phone: Tel. (+39) 06 8413979, for the museum itself, or (+39) 06 32810, for reservations. Opening hours: 09.00 till 19.00. Closed: Mondays. Only 100 people are allowed in at the time, in two hour slots. You need to arrive 30 minutes early, in order to pick up your tickets. The Roma Pass is valid, but you will still need to book. Price: 13 Euros (EU citizens between 18 and 25: 2 Euros; anybody younger than 18: Free). Reservations are mandatory for everybody and cost 2 Euros per person. Public transport: Bus: 910 from Termini.
“Archaeology Now”
The starting point was an earlier exhibition in the Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana in Venice in 2017. This exhibition was called “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” and was presented as a recovery of artifacts from a ship wrecked in the early centuries AD in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa. Here, coral covered sculptures, ruined by age and water were flanked by contemporary reproductions of the same objects, but also by modern icons like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
At the Galleria Borghese Hirst’s sculptures are placed between the works of art making up the museum’s permanent exhibition. Apart from the older sculptures, there are also a number of recent paintings by the artist. The paintings, assembled under the title “Colour Space”, are a continuation of his “Spot Paintings” cycle. However, whereas the latter were perfectly painted and arranged, the new versions are allowed flaws and irregulariteis.
One of the works on display is “Five Grecian Nudes”, placed next to Antonio Canova’s famous marble sculpture “Paulina Bonaparte”. “The Diver” and “Grecian Nude” are covered with algae, shells and other debris.
The huge “Hydra and Kalis” sculpture can be seen in the Secret Garden of the Uccelleria.
Damien Hirst was born in 1965, in Bristol, United Kingdom. In 1995 he was the recipient of the prestigious Turner Prize.
