Damien Hirst, Tate Modern

Love him or loathe him, its hard to deny that Damien Hirst is one of this country's most successful artists.  Now, the chance for us all to see most of this better known works together in one show, at the Tate Modern.  It was all there, from his signature spot paintings, pharmaceutical and medial collages, bisected sharks and sheep, via musings on the meaning of life and death in the form of cases of flies and rooms full of butterflies, to the totally OTT 'For the Love of God' - his infamous diamond encrusted platinum skull.
Although this was the first time I had ever seen Hirst's work up close (apart from the now defunct Pharmacy restaurant in Notting Hill), I felt that his pickled animal carcasses had lost some of their shock value because we have all become desensitised to these works via constant media exposure.  On the other hand, his spot paintings were much more accessible as works of art in their gallery setting than they ever were in a glossy magazine, and his butterfly collages were simply stunning, looking more like elaborate stained glass windows.
Exiting though the gift shop, we resisted the temptation to splash out £36,800 on a Damien Hurst hand painted plastic skull (hand painted by one of his many assistants no doubt).  Not even the £9.95 fridge magnet set could tempt me.  But go see for yourself. The exhibition is open unto 9th September 2012.