Damien Hirst

The 2016 shortlist for the highly coveted Turner Prize has finally been announced, and everyone's talking about one particular installation by Anthea Hamilton - because it's a massive butt. But we're here to tell you that that's not what it's all about. There's a train too.

Damien Hirst previously won the Turner Prize

Art is one of those things that people think you need to take really seriously, but sometimes that's just impossible. Anthea Hamilton is among the four names on the 2016 Turner Prize shortlist for her New York solo exhibition 'Anthea Hamilton: Lichen! Libido! Chastity!' at SculptureCenter. Her work features a pair of naked buttocks being clasped by a pair of hands poking out of an 18-foot brick wall, and she calls it 'Project for Door (After Gaetano Pesce)'.

Continue reading: Turner Prize 2016 Shortlist: I Like Big Butt Sculptures And I Cannot Lie

Some of British artist Damien Hirst’s most famous pieces, involving dead animals being preserved in glass tanks, leaked dangerous levels of formaldehyde gas during a show at London’s Tate Modern gallery four years ago.

Researchers writing up a study in the journal ‘Analytical Methods’ claimed that scientists were testing a new sensor for the remote detection of various carcinogens, and found that in the 2012 exhibition at the Tate Modern – the most popular tourist destination in Britain with nearly six million visitors a year – levels of formaldehyde were significantly higher than the maximum allowed by legislation.

Damien Hirst pictured in 2014

Continue reading: Damien Hirst's Preserved Animal Carcass Artworks Leaked Poisonous Gas

Artist Grayson Perry has been honoured at Buckingham Palace as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in return for what he says was "30 years of hard graft," according to The Telegraph.

Grayson Perry Collected His CBE Dressed Glamorously As His Alter-Ego, Claire.

The self-styled transvestite potter arrived at the palace resplendent in a shimmering blue satin and lace dress and bolero along with an elaborate ostrich feather hat, described by Perry himself as an "Italian mother-of-the-bride" outfit.

Continue reading: Grayson Perry Collects CBE In 'Mother-Of-The-Bride' Dress At Buckingham Palace

The Exhibitionist Gallery in Notting Hill, London, found itself the subject of an art heist on Monday, as two Damien Hirst paintings were stolen in the early hours of the morning. According to Scotland Yard, via Sky News, the artworks are worth around £33,000 in total. The thief (or thieves) were anything but inconspicuous. Police on the scene reports that a suspect forced open the front door to the gallery, moved out the paintings and drove away in in a dark-coloured hatchback-type vehicle towards Ladbroke Grove.

The stolen paintings were valued at over £30,000 together.

The larger of the two stolen paintings is titled Pyronin Y. It was created in 2005 and its value is estimated at £15,000. The other piece is Oleoylsarcosine and was created in 2008. It is worth £18,000. Both feature Hirst’s signature instantly recognisable multicolored dots and both have been signed by the artist. The police are working on the assumption that the pieces were clearly visible in the back of the car and were therefore likely to be seen by passersby. Anyone with information on the high-profile case is being urged to come forward.

Continue reading: London Gallery Robbed Of Two Damien Hirst Paintings In Broad Daylight

Award-winning artist Grayson Perry will deliver this year's Reith lectures which will be aired on BBC Radio 4. Perry rose to household name prominence last year with his 3-part television show All In The Best Possible Taste that examined the class divides and particularities within Britain, culminating in a tapestry exhibition that is currently touring the country.

Grayson Perry Will Deliver This Year's Reith Lectures For BBC Radio 4.

The Turner Prize-winning artist will present this year's Reith lectures in a series titled Grayson Perry: Playing to the Gallery which will consider the state of art in the 21st century as well as how the art market works. Ahead of the lectures in October and November, Perry had a few words to dish out about other British artists, and not all of them were of praise.

Continue reading: Tatty? Hackneyed? Let's Just Say Grayson Perry's Not A Damien Hirst Fan

Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley, the director of Blur's 2009 track Good Song, has been installed as the 2/1 favourite for this year's Turner Prize. Shrigley is best known for his humorous line drawings, though also makes sculptures, animated films, photographs and paintings. Additionally, his jokes and commentaries have appeared on greetings cards as well as in records by Scottish band Franz Ferdinand and Talking Heads singer-songwriter David Byrne.

His latest exhibition, Brain Activity at London's Hayward Gallery, was nominated for its "comprehensive overview" that revealed Shrigley's "black humour, macabre intelligence and infinite jest." This year's Turner exhibition will be held at Ebrington in Derry-Londonderry, the UK's City of Culture of 2013, and sees Shrigley up against Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, French installation artist Laure Prouvost and British-German performance artist Tino Sehgal. 

Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is awarded to a contemporary artist under the age of 50, living, working or born in Britain who is judged to have put on the best exhibition of the past 12 months. The winner will receive £25,000 at an awards ceremony on December 2, while past winners have include Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley and last year's recipient, Elizabeth Price. 

Continue reading: Blur Music Video Director Is 2/1 Favourite For Turner Prize 2013

James Corden’s stuttering performance under pressure at last year’s BRIT Awards ultimately hasn’t ruined his chances of being asked back, with the event confirming that the actor and comedian will be returning to host the music awards in 2013.

The televised awards descended into controversy this year after Corden was ordered by production to tell best British album winner Adele to cut her acceptance speech short so that they’d have time to show all of Blur’s performance. Unhappy with that, Adele flipped the bird at the cameras and the event came under criticism for essentially telling the night’s biggest winner to get off stage.

Corden will be hoping that there’ll be no repeat of that this time round, with the organizers having hopefully learnt their lesson. In addition to his confirmation to return, organizers have also revealed that Damien Hirst will follow in the footsteps of Sir Peter Blake and Dame Vivienne Westwood in designing the statuette to be handed out to winners in 2013. According to the Telegraph, BRITS chairman David Joseph said: "We are delighted that Damien will become the third extraordinary creative Briton to re-imagine the Brit statue. He is truly one of the most important British artists ever and his unique vision will make winning a 2013 Brit an even more special proposition."

Art eh. There you are, enjoying the lovely view from the bedroom window of your house, it looking out into a wonderful picturesque seaside town; perhaps you can even see the sea. Then, one day you wake up, and someone's put up a ruddy great 65 foot 20-ton statue of a pregnant woman up in the way. In 2012 that's art my friend and it's coming right to a door step near you.

At least that's what's happened to the residents of Ilfracombe in Devon, who've found themselves the new hosts of artist Damien Hirst's piece Verity. A cross-section of her is ripped open to reveal muscular structure and a foetus. Harbour master for the town Rob Lawson, who was involved in early discussions about getting the statue to be put up, told Sky News: "I think it's awe-inspiring. On one side you've got a beautiful, calm and emotional depiction of pending motherhood and on the other side you've got the rather more controversial and intricate picture of the human body."

Others are less than happy, though. Joel Cooper, chief reporter at the North Devon Journal, said: "I think you either love it or hate it. Certainly, we've had hundreds and hundreds of letters come into the newspaper to say they're absolutely appalled by it ... or they think it's a fantastic opportunity to move Ilfracombe - and North Devon generally - into the 21st century. Personally, as a resident who lives in Ilfracombe, it's not my favourite piece of art work."

The Turner Prize has traditionally been surrounded by controversy and, in many respects, disdain. For British artists, to win the Turner Prize may be the achievement of a lifetime, but for many of the viewing public the lingering thought is often "...eh?" Nevertheless, the Turner Prize is always the highlight of the arts calender and never fails to be entertaining at the very least.

Turner Prize winners have often gone on to great success, most notably (or notoriously) Damien Hirst, whose "Mother and Child, Divided" won in 1995, having already been nominated in 1992 with "The Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living." Steve McQueen also won the prize in 1999 with a short film about Buster Keaton. His name may ring a bell, but not for art. McQueen has gone on to be an award winning film director, with two award winning movies in his catalogue so far; 2008's "Hunger" and this year's smash "Shame". McQueen will be again be delving into some very difficult territory with the release of "Twelve Years a Slave" in 2013.

This year's Turner nominations Spartacus Chetwynd, Luke Fowler, Paul Noble and Elizabeth Price, and includes film, performance, installations, detailed line drawings and painting across the artists' exhibitions. Although Paul Noble has been pegged as an 'early favourite' by the Independent, Chedwynd is by far the most exciting of the artists. Her performance work is certainly original and her nominated piece exhibits puppet portrayals of Jesus and Barabbas.

Continue reading: Turner Prize Nominees: Will The Notoriety Continue In 2012?

The Damien Hirst Retrospective exhibition, held at The Tate Modern has become the most visited solo exhibition at the London gallery, reports The BBC. It has also become the second most visited exhibition by any artist.

"We are delighted that so many people came to see and discuss the Damien Hirst exhibition at Tate Modern,” said Chris Dercon, the gallery's director. “It was wonderful to see such iconic works brought together in one place and to offer our visitors a chance to experience them first-hand." Hirst had 463,087 visitors for the first substantial survey of his work, spanning 20 years of his career. It also featured In and Out of Love, a two-room installation involving live butterflies and his diamond skull, titled For The Love Of God. With non-concession tickets standing at £14 each, it is estimated to have made £6 million for the gallery. The retrospective was open to the public from 4 April to 9 September as part of the London 2012 Festival, which represented a busy period for the capital, with the Olympics being run simultaneously.

Hirst’s controversial style has moved him to the heights of modern art, and his recent exhibition breaks the previous record set in 2004 by the Edward Hopper retrospective (429,909 visitors). It was more popular than last year’s Gauguin: Maker of Myth (420,686) and previous blockbuster shows by Frida Kahlo and Mark Rothko.