Bottle of Becks Beer with label designed by Damien Hirst thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
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Bottle of Becks Beer with label designed by Damien Hirst

Label
1995 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The beer-brewing company Beck's is well-established as a sponsor of contemporary art events. Since 1985 they have commemorated their major sponsorships and exhibition openings by inviting artists to create limited edition labels, in order to identify their brand image with the perceived attributes of contemporary art - cool, original, young, irreverent, controversial and talked-about.

Each label offers us a miniature ‘snapshot’ of the artist’s characteristic style and subject. Some are instantly recognisable, such as this one showing by Damien Hirst with the coloured dots which are familiar from his spot paintings; this is one of two labels he designed in 1995. Other examples in the V&A collection are by Tim Head and Rebecca Horn.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBottle of Becks Beer with label designed by Damien Hirst (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Label: offset lithograph on paper
Brief description
Bottle of Beck's beer with label by Damien Hirst
Physical description
Small beer bottle with artist- designed label
Dimensions
  • Bottle height: 9.25in
  • Bottle diameter: 3.5in
Credit line
Given by Edwina Sassoon through the Friends of the V&A
Production
The artist information refers to the label on the bottle
Subject depicted
Summary
The beer-brewing company Beck's is well-established as a sponsor of contemporary art events. Since 1985 they have commemorated their major sponsorships and exhibition openings by inviting artists to create limited edition labels, in order to identify their brand image with the perceived attributes of contemporary art - cool, original, young, irreverent, controversial and talked-about.

Each label offers us a miniature ‘snapshot’ of the artist’s characteristic style and subject. Some are instantly recognisable, such as this one showing by Damien Hirst with the coloured dots which are familiar from his spot paintings; this is one of two labels he designed in 1995. Other examples in the V&A collection are by Tim Head and Rebecca Horn.
Collection
Accession number
E.867-2003

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Record createdJune 24, 2004
Record URL
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