British artist Damien Hirst is facing accusations of backdating thousands of paintings in his NFT art project ‘The Currency’. Recent research shows that at least 1,000 of the 10,000 dot paintings were produced years later than the claimed date of 2016.
Launched in 2021, ‘The Coin’ featured 10,000 dot paintings where buyers had to choose between a physical painting or a corresponding NFT, with the unselected option destroyed. Each painting bore the date 2016 and Hirst’s signature.
The project quickly sold out, generating nearly $90 million and more than 5,000 buyers opted for physical paintings, while nearly 4,000 selected NFTs, resulting in the destruction of the physical counterparts. In October 2022, Hirst and his team publicly burned almost half of the physical collection during an Instagram livestream.
Source: Damien HirstArt community divided over incorrectly dated paintings
According to the research, supported by five anonymous sources involved in the creation process, it is claimed that many of these dot paintings were actually produced in 2018 and 2019. These sources describe the large-scale production effort, which involved painters at Hirst’s studios in Gloucestershire and London. , the ‘Henry Ford production line’.
In response to the allegations, Hirst’s lawyers stated that the dating of ‘The Valuta’ paintings follows the artist’s usual practices and conceptual art conventions. They claim that the date refers to the beginning of the project and not to the individual creation of each piece.
The art community is divided over these revelations, with critics claiming that misdating undermines the integrity of ‘The Coin’, while supporters believe it is consistent with Hirst’s artistic approach.
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