Testimony to the global language of Damien Hirst’s Spot paintings comes from the artist himself speaking to the Wall Street Journal’s SceneAsia blog:

Mr. Hirst said the global exhibition is an indication that his audience is truly diverse. The Hong Kong portion of the exhibition will feature his paintings from Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Singaporean collectors, which “shows how diverse the interest in contemporary art is in Asia,” he said.

He added: “I feel like I have an audience out here [in Asia] for sure — that’s what made me want to do the shows.”

Given the recent rise of a similarly trans-cultural phenomenon in the form of Gerhard Richter’s abstract paintings, there’s something to be said for Contemporary artists who find  a way to make lage bodies of decorative work with few barriers to interpretation or assimilation.

Hirst on Asia: ‘I Have an Audience Out Here’ (SceneAsia/Wall Street Journal)