Damien Hirst

The New York glitterati were in full effect on Saturday night for the Damien Hirst opening at Gagosian at 980 Madison.  Luckily, I started from the 4th floor and worked my way up - which was a great way to see the show (hopefully the curators planned it this way).

On the 4th floor were Hirst classics - a room of butterfly prints, another room for pharmacy sculptures and finally a room of dot paintings. Up one level were a few interesting sculptures and more butterflies.

Finally, the sixth floor is where the new pieces from Damien were unveiled. Centered in the largest room of the gallery was "End of a Era" -  a bulls head set in formaldehyde in a glass box. Directly behind it was "Judgment Day" a 30-foot long gold cabinet filled with very tight shelves holding 30,000 man-made diamonds. The juxtaposition between the horror of the bull head set against the beautiful glowing gold box was fantastic.

On our way out of the madness we noticed by the reception desk stood Damien Hirst and Larry Gagosian - hanging out, making calls and air kissing the select few people they knew coming in (like Aby Rosen).

The crowd was disappointing as, per usual, they were there to be seen. There seemed to be few people who were there just to see the work, which in the end was beautiful, provocative, though-provoking, and political. However, there was nothing I haven't seen before (nothing he didn't sell at auction last year - a move that still leaves me unsettled since he bypassed his dealers and went straight to Sotheby's).

If you are not familiar with his work, this is a great collection of the different themes that have been prevalent in his work. The show runs through March 6th at 980 Madison at 76th Street - more info can be found here.