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Damien Hirst H6-1 Mercy For Sale
Damien Hirst
H6-1 Mercy, 2019
Diasec-mounted Giclée print on aluminium composite panel
39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in 100 x 100 cm
Edition
Edition of 50
About this work
Damien Hirst's "Aspects" series showcases the artist's fascination with the cycles of life and death, presented through a captivating array of visually arresting artworks. Through meticulous arrangements of preserved animal and plant specimens, often encased in glass tanks filled with formaldehyde, Hirst explores the fragile beauty and inherent transience of existence. Each piece in the series serves as a potent meditation on aDamien Hirst's piece Mercy H6-1 captivates viewers with its perfect symmetry, divided cleanly down the center yet exuding an organized chaos. The artwork presents a mesmerizing display of disembodied butterfly wings, arranged meticulously into a kaleidoscopic pattern of vivid blue hues. This arrangement, reminiscent of the mathematical precision found in Hirst's Enter the Infinite tapestries, gives the impression of wings in lively motion, as if they are fluttering across the canvas.In The Aspects, Hirst explores the symbolic significance of butterflies, a motif rich in historical and religious connotations. Here, he delves into the Christian symbolism associated with these delicate creatures. Each print in the series is named after a characteristic of God's nature from the Old Testament, with Mercy being one of them. In Christian iconography, butterflies often symbolize the resurrection of Christ, and Hirst intertwines this theme with the butterfly's intrinsic beauty, both in life and death. By aligning the butterfly with qualities like Mercy, Grace, Patience, Goodness, and Truth, Hirst elevates the insect to a radiant symbol of mortality, drawing from centuries of religious art and literature.The Aspects series, including Mercy, draws parallels to stained glass windows, not only in their compositions but also in their spiritual resonance. The translucent butterfly wings, resembling pieces of glass against a dark background mimicking lead cames, create a luminous effect, as if illuminated from within. This association with stained glass adds a layer of spiritual depth to the artwork, connecting it to Christian spirituality and its long history in art.Hirst's fascination with the butterfly motif is evident throughout his career, with The Aspects series serving as a prime example. He views the butterfly as a universal trigger for joy and beauty, stripping away the insect's body to focus solely on its dazzling wings. The choice to isolate the wings and abstract them into geometric patterns speaks to Hirst's exploration of the butterfly as both an insect and a universal symbol. Each print in the series, including Mercy, is a mosaic of butterfly wings in varying shades of blue, reminiscent of specimens in a natural history museum. This scientific aesthetic, combined with the mesmerizing beauty of the patterns, creates an artwork that is both visually captivating and conceptually rich.In Mercy H6-1, viewers are invited to contemplate the intricate beauty of butterfly wings, arranged with precision and imbued with layers of symbolism. Hirst's fusion of religious motifs, scientific aesthetics, and artistic repetition creates a piece that transcends its subject matter, offering a meditation on life, death, and the timeless allure of beauty.mortality, inviting viewers to confront their own mortality while contemplating the delicate balance between life and death. Hirst's bold juxtapositions of organic matter and industrial materials provoke profound questions about the nature of being and the human condition, challenging viewers to reconsider their relationship with the natural world. Through "Aspects," Hirst continues to push the boundaries of contemporary art, offering a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of life's most profound mysteries.
Price on Application
Edition & Provenance
- Year
- 2019
- Medium
- Diasec-mounted Giclée print on aluminium composite panel
- Edition
- Edition of 50
More from this series
More series by Damien Hirst
About the H6 - the Aspects / Elements Series
Damien Hirst H6 - the Aspects / Elements Prints For Sale
Acquiring the Philosophical Core of Contemporary Art's Most Strategic Mind
Damien Hirst commands an unparalleled position in the contemporary art market, his influence extending far beyond individual transactions into the fundamental architecture of how art is valued, collected, and understood. Guy Hepner, with $4,226,125 in documented Damien Hirst transactions, offers collectors direct access to one of the artist's most philosophically unified print series—H6: The Aspects and Elements. Within a global art market that Art Basel and UBS reported at $57.5 billion in 2024, Hirst's editions represent accessible entry points into the practice of an artist whose "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever" single-artist auction achieved $198 million at Sotheby's in 2008, permanently redefining what artists could accomplish at auction.
Series Context: Where Philosophy Meets Visual Language
The H6 series emerges from Hirst's sustained investigation into universal human concepts—a meditation on virtues and natural forces that has occupied philosophical inquiry for millennia. Created between 2019 and 2020, this body of work divides into two complementary suites: the Aspects, exploring abstract moral qualities, and the Elements, examining the classical components of existence.
This series represents Hirst at his most contemplative. While the artist rose to prominence through visceral confrontations with mortality—formaldehyde sharks, medicine cabinets, butterfly paintings—the H6 works reveal his capacity for visual philosophy. Each composition translates intangible concepts into color, form, and pattern, creating a vocabulary that speaks to both contemporary aesthetics and ancient traditions of symbolic representation.
The timing of this series proves significant. Created on the threshold of global disruption, these works addressing Goodness, Truth, Patience, and the classical elements acquired unexpected resonance. Collectors increasingly seek art that transcends the momentary, and H6 offers precisely this: visual anchors to permanent human concerns rendered through Hirst's distinctive formal intelligence.
Technical Execution: Diasec Precision on Aluminium
Every work in the H6 series employs Diasec-mounted giclée printing on aluminium composite panel—a technical process that achieves museum-grade permanence while delivering extraordinary visual impact. The Diasec method face-mounts the print beneath optical-grade acrylic using a silicone adhesive, eliminating air pockets and creating a seamless surface with remarkable depth and luminosity.
The aluminium composite substrate provides rigid support with minimal weight, allowing for substantial scale without compromise. This industrial material choice connects these works to Hirst's broader practice, which has consistently explored tensions between clinical precision and emotional content—from spot paintings to pharmaceutical imagery.
Giclée printing at this level achieves color fidelity impossible through traditional printmaking methods, capturing subtle gradations and intense saturations with equal success. The combination of these technologies results in editions that maintain their visual integrity across decades, a crucial consideration for collectors evaluating long-term value.
Notable Works in the Series
H6-4 Goodness (2019) anchors the Aspects suite, translating moral philosophy into pure visual form. The work demonstrates Hirst's ability to create compositions that function both as aesthetic objects and contemplative instruments.
H6-5 Truth (2019) continues this philosophical investigation, its formal choices embodying the clarity and complexity that truth itself demands. The tension between transparency and obscurity plays across the surface.
H6-3 Patience (2019) explores temporality through static image—a conceptual challenge that Hirst addresses through compositional strategies suggesting duration, waiting, and eventual resolution.
H6 Elements Suite (2020) presents all four classical elements as a unified statement. Collected together, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water create a complete cosmology, each work strengthening the others through dialogue and contrast.
H6-6 Elements: Earth (2020) grounds the elemental quartet, its materiality rendered through color and form that evoke geological time and terrestrial solidity.
H6-8 Elements: Fire (2020) captures transformation and energy, the destructive and generative force that drives change across all scales of existence.
H6-7 Air (2020) addresses the invisible made visible—breath, atmosphere, the medium through which all perception travels.
H6-9 Water (2020) completes the classical cycle with fluidity and reflection, the element of life itself rendered in Hirst's precise visual language.
Investment Analysis: Strategic Entry to a Defining Practice
The secondary market for Hirst prints has demonstrated remarkable consistency. His unique works continue commanding significant results at major auction houses—Lullaby Spring achieved $19.2 million at Sotheby's in 2007—establishing price ceilings that support edition valuations. Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams regularly feature Hirst editions, providing transparent price discovery and documented transaction history.
With Art Basel and UBS confirming the global market's return to growth in 2025, strategically positioned editions from established artists offer particular appeal. The H6 series represents later-career work from an artist who has systematically built market infrastructure across thirty years. Science Ltd authentication ensures provenance clarity, while White Cube representation maintains institutional visibility.
Guy Hepner's transaction volume in Hirst works reflects market intelligence accumulated across numerous acquisitions. This depth of experience proves essential when evaluating edition availability, pricing trends, and optimal timing for collection entry.
Acquisition Through Guy Hepner, New York
Collectors seeking H6 series works benefit from Guy Hepner's established market position and demonstrated Hirst expertise. The New York team provides comprehensive acquisition services, including availability assessment, condition evaluation, and strategic guidance on series completion for collectors pursuing the full Aspects or Elements suites.
Contact Guy Hepner to discuss current H6 inventory and acquisition opportunities.
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.