A new collaborative exhibition featuring three prominent contemporary artists has drawn scathing criticism from art reviewers, who describe it as an aesthetic disaster that fails to showcase any of the individual strengths of its participants. The show, titled 'Triple Trouble,' brings together works by Damien Hirst, the controversial British artist and Young British Artists (YBA) kingpin, street artist Shepard Fairey, and the anonymous French street artist known as Invader at London's Newport Street Gallery.
The exhibition, which runs until March 29, consists primarily of collaborative pieces that merge the distinctive styles of all three artists into what critics are calling a catastrophic visual mess. Reviewers describe walking through enormous room after enormous room filled with works that combine Hirst's signature dots and medical cabinets with Invader's small ceramic alien figures and Fairey's poster-style digital artwork. The scale of the exhibition has been criticized as overwhelming, with one critic noting that 'it just goes on and on' through the gallery space.
Among the most controversial pieces is a massive formaldehyde case by Hirst containing one of Invader's alien figures submerged in blue fluid, which one reviewer compared to 'walking in on a crime scene.' The exhibition also features a wall displaying Fairey's 'Obey' logo plastered over Hirst's spin and flower paintings, medical cabinets filled with pills bearing the Obey logo, and diamond-encrusted Space Invaders pieces. Additional works include butterfly paintings combined with Fairey's propaganda-style imagery and pixelated portraits of cultural figures like Lou Reed and Sid Vicious.
One particularly striking piece described by critics is an enormous triple portrait that appears to feature activist Malala Yousafzai and pop star Miley Cyrus, decorated with scalpel blades. Critics have dismissed much of the work as 'juvenile, dumb, silly imagery that does not work on any level,' comparing the overall aesthetic to something created by 'the most annoying teenager you've ever met.'
Art critics argue that the collaborative format strips each artist of their individual strengths and contexts that make their work effective. They point out that Invader's work is designed for street installations rather than gallery walls, while Fairey's poster art loses its impact when removed from its intended commercial and political contexts. As for Hirst, critics suggest that without his conceptual framework, the work becomes merely decorative.
The exhibition has been interpreted by some reviewers as being 'precision-engineered to sell, in vast quantities at vast prices, to people with the worst taste on Earth.' Critics acknowledge that while each artist has demonstrated individual talents in their respective fields, none of these qualities are successfully translated into the collaborative works on display. The show was curated by Connor Hirst, son of Damien Hirst.
The harsh reception reflects broader questions about when artistic collaboration enhances or diminishes individual artistic vision. Critics conclude that the exhibition represents a cautionary tale about ambitious projects that prioritize spectacle over artistic integrity, with one reviewer summarizing the sentiment: 'Everyone here was so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. And they shouldn't.'
