"Collecting is the way the world works, as a human being."
So says Damien Hirst, who is set to go from artist to curator in 2014, when his own gallery will open in Vauxhall, London.
Hirst has revealed to the UK's Observer newspaper that the museum will house six galleries and a café, and will showcase Hirst's extensive contemporary art collection, which runs to more than 2,000 pieces.
The gallery will showcase pieces by British artist Banksy, America's Jeff Koons, as well as five pieces by Francis Bacon.
Regarding Bacon, Hirst told the newspaper: "He didn't make many and he's not making any more."
This is the thinking of many collectors with an eye on creating a valuable assemblage of artworks. For where rarity meets demand, prices can only rise.
Paul Fraser Collectibles takes a similar viewpoint when sourcing its artworks. This original EH Shepard autographed drawing for Punch magazine, for example, cannot be found anywhere else.
 The shark that will help fund Hirst's gallery |
Damien Hirst first came to prominence in the late 1980s, with the assistance of his patron Charles Saatchi.
Hirst's fortune has been estimated at around $1bn, thanks to sales such as the $19.2m paid by the Emir of Qatar in 2007 for Lullaby Spring, a steel cabinet measuring three-metres long, containing more than 6,000 pills.
Hirst is also known for his formaldehyde works, including The Golden Calf and The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.
Hirst has recently unveiled plans to move into property development, but looks unlikely to turn his back on collecting art anytime soon.
"I always think collections are like a map of a man's life," he says.
