The Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst, Aug. 2006

The Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst
at Lever House
Park Avenue, New York City

Damien Hirst (born June 7, 1965) is an English artist and the leading artist of the group that has been dubbed "Young British Artists" (or YBAs). He dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s and is internationally renowned.

Death is a central theme in his work. He is best known for his Natural History series, in which dead animals (such as a shark, a sheep or a cow) are preserved, sometimes cut-up, in formaldehyde. His iconic work is The Physical Impossibility Of Death In the Mind Of Someone Living, an 18ft tiger shark in formaldehyde in a vitrine. Its sale in 2004 made him the second most expensive living artist (after Jasper Johns).

The Virgin Mother, a massive sculpture depicting a pregnant female human, with layers removed from one side to expose the foetus, muscle and tissue layers, and skull underneath.

Text (after the first paragraph) from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Hirst