AN ESSAY WRITTEN IN THE 1990s BY CATHY BELL

In the late 1990's I was interested in the art of Damien Hirst, in fact the British contemporary art movements in general. I thought I had perceived something in Hirst's work that was not being commented on by other art historians and critics so I wrote the essay ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL - THE ART OF DAMIEN HIRST. Obviously times have moved on since then, however, I believe my essay is still relevant today. I have not followed Hirst's work that closely since then but I do rate him as an important artist of the period and think that his name will outlast some of his contemporaries. In a time when artist's such as Banksy and Grayson Perry have  captured the popular imagination, Hirst remains in the background in some ways, however, I believe he has contributed something more lasting to art history and will endure beyond this time in a way the other artist's will not.