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After cutting a $30,000 Damien Hirst print into pieces, a US art collective is on course to sell the individual parts for more than seven times what it originally paid.
New York-based group MSCHF recently purchased a signed copy of one of the artist’s famous spotted paintings, “L-Isoleucine T-Butyl Ester,” then proceeded to cut out each of the 88 dots by hand and sell them separately for $480.
This alone generated a profit of around $12,000 — and with bids for the leftover white paper now reaching over $172,000, the group is set to significantly increase the total value of the work.
The spots were cut out by hand before being sold online. Credit: MSCHF
The colored spots, which were each signed on the reverse by MSCHF, sold out in under 38 seconds, the collective said. What remains of the artwork, which includes Hirst’s signature and is listed on the project’s website as “Spotless Painting,” is open to online bids until early next week.
“Ordinarily, it might take fine art decades to double in value, but by chopping it up and distributing it, we’re going to do it in a few days,” said MSCHF’s head of strategy, Daniel Greenberg, over email. “We’re beating the entire art world at (its) own game while letting people enjoy the art.”
Bids for what remains of the artwork have reached over $172,000. Credit: MSCHF
But as well as offering a commentary on the value of art, Greenberg said that the group wanted to explore the issue of so-called “fractionalized” ownership, whereby paintings can be jointly bought by multiple owners — opening up the blue-chip art market to those who may otherwise be priced out.
Damien Hirst has created over 1,000 spot paintings between 1986 and 2011. Credit: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
“Fine art is the definition of inaccessible,” Greenberg said. “For the wealthy, artwork is an investment vehicle, but for the average Joe, fractionalized ownership is continuing to grow.”
Damien Hirst’s studio has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment.
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