Spot Market

Colin Gleadell updates the market for Spot paintings as the Hirst exhibition opens later this week. Gleadell says one third of the 300 works on offer at Gagosian galleries around the world will be for sale at prices that remain very close to Gagosian’s vest. Though it would be safe to assume the entry-level price is over $1m and rises from there.

What Gleadell cannily points out is there is another arm to the Spot campaign that may ultimately have more effect on Hirst’s prices in years to come, the product line that also launches this week:

There is no secret, however, about the range of prints and other spotty products to be launched tomorrow by Hirst’s shop, Other Criteria. There’s a spot badge at 75p, a Spot Tea Towel for £14, Spot Cuff Links for £19, Spot T shirts for £24.95, and Spot Silk Scarves for £89.95.

Hirst’s greatest skill as an artist has been to create works art works with branding and diffusion power not unlike a fashion designer. Hirst isn’t the first to have done this but he does show that exceptionally few artists have been capable—or desired to—build this kind of pyramid.

Damien Hirst’s Spots: A Rough Guide to Pricing (Telegraph)