Damien Hirst, Bono Contribute AIDS Charity With $40 mn sale

While you all sitting on other corner would be celebrating Valentine day by exchanging Red Roses, artists on the other end are deeply engroseesd in doping some charity. Known as bad boy amongst the British artist communuity, Damien Hirst together with U2 musician Bono and his RED organization has invited 100 contemporary works from dozens of renowned artists to be donated at the “The (RED) Auction,” a Valentine day auction scheduled on 14 February to support the HIV-AIDS programs in Africa. Besides being the lead singer of the Irish rock band, Bono is the co- founder of RED. The charity auction is expected to generate a sale of $40 million. The artwork was previewed at Sotheby’s London-based auction house before marching to New York.
The auction features around $13.6 million of artwork donated by Hirst including a $7 million pill cabinet. Hirst is able to gain the interest of artists viz. Keith Tyson, Michael Craig-Martin, Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, Matthew Barney, Georg Baselitz, Cecily Brown and Douglas Gordon for the socila cause.

The auction earnings will be donated to the United Nations Foundation’s fund to support HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. After inking a $100 mn deal for diamond skull, Hirst here takes the initiate for donating seven works to the charity auction. Hirst’s pill cabinet, named “Where There’s a Will There’s a Way,” is packed with red-shaded antiretroviral drugs and is a replica of the colored pills that sold for $19.2 million in June.
Hirst also added a 214-centimeter red heart festooned dead butterflies stuck in gloss paint titled, “All You Need Is Love,” which is expected to generate $1.5 million along with a red circular work, “Beautiful RED Spin Painting,” to fetch $800,000.

Hirst, who worked on the auction for more than a year, is a friend of Bono, Tyrrell said. Hurst another painting “HIV Aids, Drugs Combination” is priced at $450-650,000 at Sotheby’s auction house.

Via Bloomberg