Art’s Golden Calf?

In the early 90s Damien Hirst shot to fame—and infamy—with works such as The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a tiger shark pickled in a glass tank. In the ensuing years, Hirst has engaged in further critic-baiting activities, admitting that his work is mostly made by assistants and talking dismissively about its ultimate meaning. Love him or hate him, there’s seemingly no stopping him: opening this month at Gagosian, New York, is an exhibition of recent, sculptural work entitled End of an Era. In these undeniably arresting new pieces, Hirst revisits past obsessions—formaldehyde, medicine racks and mortality—with an opulent eye, covering his vitrines with gold leaf and replacing the pill bottles of his Pharmacy series with glittering jewels.