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Damien Hirst H17-3 Civilisation Explained For Sale
Damien Hirst
H17-3 Civilisation Explained, 2024
Giclée print on Cotton Smooth Rag
56 1/4 x 44 1/8 in 143 x 112 cm
Edition
Edition of 531
About this work
H17-3 Civilisation Explained is a giclée print on Cotton Smooth Rag created by Damien Hirst in 2024, the third work in his H17 Civilisation series. Produced in an edition of 531 and measuring 56¼ by 44⅛ inches, the print derives from the Civilisation Paintings — a body of work in which Hirst addresses the necessity of hope amid the profound challenges and contradictions of contemporary civilization. The title's declarative form — explained — introduces an analytical register that sits in ironic tension with the inexhaustible complexity of its stated subject. The Civilisation series traces a narrative arc across its four prints: from rising through falling to the explanatory and finally the explosive. Civilisation Explained occupies the third position — the analytical pause between crisis and resolution, the attempt to account for what has happened and what might come. Hirst's visual language in the Civilisation Paintings draws on gestural abstraction and painterly density to create works of considerable emotional and formal ambition. The Cotton Smooth Rag substrate provides an ideal support for the giclée process, preserving the tonal range and surface complexity of the original paintings with exceptional fidelity. Damien Hirst is one of the most significant artists of the contemporary period, whose practice has consistently engaged with the broadest questions of human existence. The Civilisation series marks a new development in his long-standing preoccupation with systems of meaning — cultural, biological, commercial — that structure human life. H17-3 Civilisation Explained, as a major recent print from this significant series, represents an important addition to any comprehensive collection of Hirst's work, and speaks to the ongoing relevance and ambition of his practice.
Price on Application
Edition & Provenance
- Year
- 2024
- Medium
- Giclée print on Cotton Smooth Rag
- Edition
- Edition of 531
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About Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst prints for sale at Guy Hepner include works from the Spot Paintings, Butterfly editions, Beautiful prints, and Pharmaceutical series. Damien Hirst art for sale and Damien Hirst original art for sale through our New York gallery are sourced from authenticated secondary market collections. We also advise collectors looking to sell Damien Hirst prints — free valuations available.
Damien Hirst is the defining figure of the Young British Artists movement and one of the most collected living artists in the world. His work spans Natural History sculptures, Spot Paintings, Butterfly Works, Spin Paintings, and pharmaceutical installations ? series that have set auction benchmarks at Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips across four decades. Collections at Tate Modern, MoMA, and the Guggenheim confirm his standing as one of the essential artists of his generation.
His single-artist auction "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever" generated $198 million at Sotheby's in 2008, a record that remains one of the most significant events in the contemporary art market. Major works including the Lullaby series of medicine cabinets and the Natural History formaldehyde sculptures have each achieved prices above $10 million, while his Spot Paintings and print editions sustain deep, global secondary market activity across all price points.
Guy Hepner Gallery has deep expertise across Damien Hirst's print editions, Spot Paintings, and Butterfly Works, offering acquisition guidance, market valuations, and direct access to available works. Whether you are building a collection or looking to sell, the gallery provides trusted, confidential support for one of the most actively traded names in contemporary art.