Selected drawings by Damien Hirst in the Russian Museum

Damien Hirst, perhaps most prominent modern British artist, apparently gained a disappointing ‘D’ in his A-Level art exam, but went on to train at Goldsmiths College, London, a breeding ground for ground-breaking British art. He is known as the ‘bad-boy’ of Brit-Art, but actually little is known of the personality behind the thought-provoking works. He chops up cows and displays them in giant tanks of formaldehyde; he opened a restaurant in Notting Hill, London, called the Pharmacy, which had walls lined with medicine cabinets and rinks with medicinal names. In 1995, Hirst won the prestigious Turner Prize for his provocative art.

The exhibition is Damian Hirst's first-ever drawings show and has received critical acclaim in the UK. Spanning his entire career, the exhibition incorporates a selection of around 100 drawings, drawn from a large number of public and private collections. They range from early drawings done when Hirst was a teenager to intimate drawings made for close friends. The exhibition will also include preparatory sketches for some of Hirst's well-known sculptural work as well as sketches and ideas for future work; Hirst is also including his sculpture 'From the Cradle to the Grave' (2000) in the exhibition.