'Beautiful Sunflower' painting by Damien Hirst
Watch dials and household gloss on canvas, diameter 213,4 cm
In a collaborative effort between Italian watchmaker Officine Panerai and prominent contemporary English artist Damien Hirst, two exquisite paintings assembled with Panerai timepieces were created for an exhibition on time at the Triennale di Milano in Italy.
'Beautiful Sunflower' and 'Beautiful Fractional Sunflower' may give viewers a dizzying sensation of vertigo - no accident, given that both paintings were created by Hirst using a technique dubbed spin painting, where the artist drips paint onto the canvas before manually or electronically rotating the piece to produce kaleidoscopic whorls.
Close-up detail of 'Beautiful Sunflower'
Dozens of watch components from Forentine manufacturer Officine Panerai were then hand-applied by the enfant terrible of the modern art world, who also professes to be a huge Panerai fan and collector. The watch faces used in the paintings were stripped of their hands, in an artistic statement that Hirst likens to the triumph of Kairos over Kronos.
Both paintings are currently showing at the "O'clock. Time design, design Time" exhibition at the Triennale di Milano, which also features more than 70 contemplative artpieces which invite viewers to muse over the concept on time and its profound impact on humanity. Curated by Silvana Annicchiarico and Jan Van Rossem, all of the pieces were commissioned specifically for the triennale.
'Beautiful Fractional Sunflower' painting by Damien Hirst, 40.64cm x 40.64cm
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