Exhibition: Where the Land Meets the Sea

An exhibition of works from Damien Hirst’s latest paintings series shown in public for the first time.

The series was inspired by Hirst’s lifelong connection to the sea. Drawing influence from Abstract Expressionism, namely Robert Motherwell’s Beside the Sea series from the 1960s, the works in Where the Land Meets the Sea wonderfully evoke Hirst’s pastime of walking on the beach and watching the sea, most recently in the UK during the winter.

Coast Paintings is a series of abstract action paintings named after British seaside locations. These paintings began their life as gray canvases which were laid on the floor of Hirst’s studio while he painted his acclaimed Cherry Blossoms series, catching ricochets of paint intended for the blossoms. As he recognized the beauty of these chance splatters of color, Hirst developed these canvases into a series of paintings.