Quotes from Damien Hirst

But whenever I look at the question of how to live, the answer's always staring me in the face. I'm already doing it.

The difference between art about death and actual death is that one's a celebration and the other's a dull fact.

The goal in life is to be solid, whereas the way that life works is totally fluid, so you can never actually achieve that goal.

I had a passport where I wrote 'artist' under 'occupation' and I remember thinking, 'That's it, it's proved!'

Immortality is really desirable, I guess. In terms of images, anyway.

Being best is a false goal, you have to measure success on your own terms.

In an artwork you're always looking for artistic decisions, so an ashtray is perfect. An ashtray has got life and death.

It's a great advantage to be able to play people off against each other, isn't it? You go to Christie's and get a quote on something. And then you go to Phillips' and you tell them what Christie's has given you. I like auctions for artists.

So smoking is the perfect way to commit suicide without actually dying. I smoke because it's bad, it's really simple.

My Mum brought me up to believe that if you look after the pennies then the pounds look after themselves, and I could never do it.

But the answer to how to live is to stop thinking about it. And just to live. But you're doing that anyway. However you intellectualise it, you still just live.

I think an ashtray is the most fantastically real thing.

If the choice is between buying another building or a Pollock, I'd go for the Pollock every time.

It'd be nice to make lots of money but it's quite difficult, because every time I make lots of money I make a bigger piece that costs lots of money.

It's good to have a title that's not just one word. If you're gonna title it, you might as well try and say something.

But I think it's more that when you're young, you're invincible, you're immortal - or at least you think you are. The possibilities are limitless, you're inventing the future. Then you get older and suddenly you have a history. It's fixed. You can't change anything. I find that a bit disturbing, to be honest.

It's such a crass idea - you're either in love or out of love.

I love color. I feel it inside me. It gives me a buzz.

As a father, I would say I am more like a mother. I do a lot of hugging.

You'd never look at a Rembrandt and say, 'That's just wood and canvas and paint - how much?!' It's all about how many people want it. It works on a pair of jeans as well - they're just material and stitching, and as soon as you walk out of the shop, they're worth nothing.

Picasso, Michelangelo, possibly, might be verging on genius, but I don't think a painter like Rembrandt is a genius.

No, I don't believe in genius. I believe in freedom. I think anyone can do it. Anyone can be like Rembrandt.

I gave up painting by 16. I secretly thought I would have been Rembrandt by then.

I remember when you used to have your profession on your passport and I always thought that being a painter was the best one to be, because my heroes were Goya and Francis Bacon.