Damien Hirst’s ‘Where the Land Meets the Sea’ at the Phillips Gallery

Having worked at 35 Berkeley Square for many years I was familiar with the robust shades of green the square delightfully offers in the summer. On the northern edge across the way from my old office sits the dominant Phillips gallery.

A bit like an alumnus returning to their alma mater I walked past old haunts and hang-outs. The emerald leaves danced as the wind caressed the trees.

I arrive at the stroke of opening at 10am. The security guard marches over to what I thought were walls but he spins them open to reveal the exhibit on the ground floor. I am happy to hear it continues upstairs.

The art company Heni proudly presents Damien Hirst’s ‘Where the Land Meets the Sea’ as part of their application based drop of his works. They are themed: coastal paintings, sea paintings and seascapes. The abstract paintings are all oil on canvas.

These paintings of varying sizes have been expertly hung on the plain walls. There are single large pieces with neutral blots and splashes. Very similar to Hirst’s Cherry Blossom work. These however are wilder and more abstract even leaning towards Pollock in its composition.

I see blurry, out-of-focus images of the ocean and soon realise that the grey and white splashes of paint next to them are abstract representations of that very scene. Once one makes this realisation it becomes fun and easy to see where the parallels are from piece to piece. 

This display marks the latest iteration of his practice of producing paintings in the likeness of greyscale photographs. The greyscale really captures the broodiness and gloom of a sea storm. The out of focus images are actually photorealistic paintings from which Hirst replicates using a diverse range of splattered paint.

The walls are covered with Hirst’s art. Over 100 hang in the pristine white halls of the Philips’s gallery. I was rather disappointed however. It was more of very much the same on the first floor, upstairs. I was hoping for a little more variation. In fact there started to become a factory-like feel to the exhibit.

Regardless of what I thought at the time, Heni and Phillip’s certainly know what they are doing. This was less about showcasing the work as it was to generating investment. The pieces, even if in the 100s are highly limited; along with provenance and the popularity we see with Hirst’s work, it’s almost a no-brainer.