SEOUL - Most Koreans, even those new to art, may have heard of Damien Hirst, or stumbled upon his characteristically provocative work online. Few, however, have had the chance to see it in person.
That is partly what makes the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) exhibition significant -- it marks the British artist's first solo show in Asia, bringing together a sweeping body of work, including pieces that have rarely been seen in public.
"The exhibition here, I think, showcases about 40 years of my art making career," Hirst said during a press conference held at the museum Wednesday. "The curators have done an amazing job hanging it very beautifully and very economically," he added.
British artist Damien Hirst poses for photos at a press conference at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul on March 18, 2026. (Yonhap)
At the press event, the MMCA's curators highlighted the artist's unwavering commitment to exploring themes of death, immortality, human desire, and faith in science and medicine, and his relentless drive to push those boundaries even further.
The upcoming exhibition features some 50 works spanning his career, from early pieces to his latest creations. Some of his most iconic works to be on display include "For the Love of God," a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with diamonds, and the "Natural History" series preserving real animals in tanks of formaldehyde.
On "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living," his 1991 work featuring a shark preserved in a formaldehyde-filled tank, the museum described the process of bringing it to Korea as "incredibly hard," from contract negotiations to shipment and installation.
According to the museum, this marks only the fourth time the work has been on public view since its creation, following its debut at the Saatchi Gallery in London in 1992, a showing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 2007-10 and its appearance at Hirst's retrospective at Tate Modern in London in 2012.
Another highlight of the exhibition is a recreation of the artist's "River Studio" in London, featuring his works in progress -- paintings that have never been seen by the public before.
An artist's note posted on the wall offers a rare glimpse into his thoughts on painting -- his admiration for Henri Matisse, his ongoing search for what he truly wants in his work, his determination to keep creating and a renewed sense of purpose in the art of painting.
"The paintings here are unfinished and works in progress, much like ourselves and so many things in life," he wrote. "Humans are like a river, and that river runs through all paintings and through us. Perhaps the river is our life, or our death."
Kim In-hye, head of the MMCA's curatorial team, underscored the defining quality of the artist's work, which is how the artist's works consistently carry two contrasting sides.
"According to Hirst, life is a moment. It sparks and dazzles, yet carries sadness too. It is breathtakingly beautiful, but within it lies something sharp and dangerous," she said. "Everything coexists on a single canvas."
She also noted how passionate the artist is about oil painting, pointing to his "Cherry Blossoms" series, which, according to the museum "display intense vitality and beauty over a short period of time, evoke both life and death, as well as beauty and desire."
"Having worked alongside him for the exhibition, I came to truly feel that creating art brings him immense comfort and that he is someone who truly devotes himself to it," she said. "I hope that comes through to the visitors as well."
"Damien Hirst: Nothing is True But Everything Is Possible" opens Friday and runs through June 28.
