ROME.- Fondazione Pastificio Cerere inaugurated its 2012 program with the second edition of Postcard from…, a project conceived and curated by the Fondazione’s Art Director, Marcello Smarrelli, and aimed at diffusing contemporary art in urban contexts. Produced in collaboration with A.P.A. - Agenzia Pubblicità Affissioni, Postcard from… involves four artists yearly who each create a poster measuring 400x300 cm, dimensions of which reflect those used in billboard advertising.

This year’s first poster, Postcard from… Damien Hirst Nucleohistone, was realized by internationally renowned British artist Damien Hirst, and will be displayed at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere until 10 March, 2012. The poster has been installed in the Fondazione’s courtyard and will also be circulated in ten facilities in Rome managed by A.P.A. with the standard 14-day advertising turnover. An updated list of locations can be consulted on Pastificio Cerere’s website. Over the course of the exhibition, Hirst’s poster will also be on show at the main entrance of Rome’s MACRO– Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma museum.

“Postcard from… positions art where we least expect it to be,” muses Smarrelli. “I love the idea that passers-by can unintentionally become spectators of an artwork, as occurred during the previous edition with artists Raphäel Zarka, Reto Pulfer, Massimo Grimaldi and Lara Almarcegui. I hope this project will open up a unique perceptive experience by allowing its audience to appreciate art beyond the traditional realm of gallery and museum exhibition spaces, where one is already made aware of being faced with a work of art.” One of Pastificio Cerere’s main objectives is to stimulate the mind and promote art projects that foster cultural and social growth and open-mindedness.

Hirst’s extraordinary body of work tackles wholly relevant issues in today’s society: the concept of mortality, contemporary society’s dependence on the pharmaceutical industry, and the role of science and religion in our lives. For this project, Hirst selected a work that is representative of his “Spot Paintings” series, which he has been producing since 1988. The title of the work, Nucleohistone (2008-2011), refers to the DNA and protein structure within the cell’s nucleus and reflects the artist’s passion for medical aesthetics.

Postcard from… Damien Hirst is realized in conjunction with Gagosian Gallery’s exhibition The Complete Spot Paintings 1986–2011 by Damien Hirst. The exhibition are taking place at once across all of Gagosian Gallery’s eleven locations in New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles, Rome, Athens, Geneva, and Hong Kong, opened worldwide on 12 January, 2012. The exhibition at Gagosian Gallery in Rome will be on show until 10 March, 2012.

Damien Hirst was born in 1965 in Bristol, England. Solo exhibitions include "The Agony and the Ecstasy," Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Naples (2004); "A Selection of Works by Damien Hirst from Various Collections," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2005); Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo (2005); "For the Love of God," Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2008); "No Love Lost," The Wallace Collection, London (2009); "Requiem," Pinchuk Art Center, Kiev (2009); and “Cornucopia,” the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco (2010). He received the Turner Prize in 1995. His work is included in many important public and private collections throughout the world. Hirst lives and works in London and Devon, United Kingdom.