British artist Damien Hirst famously said, “Art survives through its effect on others.” As a leader in the contemporary art world, he, like his peers, considers making art a way to convey ideas about culture, human relationships, the environment, and politics.

The artworks included in Audacious: Contemporary Artists Speak Out have the potential to invite or even incite conversation about the world around us. The outlandish presentation of ideas using simplified or crude depictions, everyday materials, or riffs on cultural conventions helps infuse contemporary art with provocative, sometimes challenging, content.

This installation will feature the Denver Art Museum’s collection of contemporary art and signature loans from local collectors. Audacious highlights, among others, works by Franz Ackermann, Brian Alfred, Christo, Tracey Emin, John Fudge, Philip Guston, Damien Hirst, Martin Maloney, Ana Mendieta, and Shirin Neshat.