Damien Hirst show at new York gallery (From York Press)

Entomology, Lotte Inch Gallery, York, until November 22

11:01am Friday 26th October 2012 in Exhibitions By Julian Cole

THERE are lots of dead insects in the new exhibition at a new contemporary art gallery in York. But don’t worry – this is not because the owner has forgotten to sweep up.

The exhibition in question, entitled, ‘Entomology’, showcases works by superstar artist Damien Hirst and Tessa Farmer, an installation artist. The artists are both represented within the Saatchi collection and the exhibition considers themes of nature, taxonomies and microscopic underworlds.

Where the Hirst prints on show at the Lotte Inch Gallery, in High Petergate, have a repeating butterfly theme, Farmer’s work consists of intricately constructed encased installations featuring dead insects and, in once instance, beetles crawling over the skull of a rabbit.

Further work will be provided for sale from John Dilnot, an artist from Brighton, who creates artists’ books and box works.

Damien Hirst was born in 1965 in Bristol and grew up in Leeds. Since 1987, more than 80 solo Damien Hirst exhibitions have taken place worldwide and his work has been included in 250 group shows. In 1995 he was awarded the Turner Prize and this year a major retrospective of his work was staged at Tate Modern.

Tessa Farmer was born in Birmingham in 1978 and lives and works in London. Her work has been shown in galleries and museums worldwide and is included in the collections of MONA, Tasmania and The Saatchi Gallery, London. Recent exhibitions include The Tatton Park Biennial; Flights of Fancy, at Tatton Park, Knutsford.

John Dilnot studied graphic design at Canterbury College of Art, followed by Fine Art at Camberwell School of Art in the early 1980s. He has shown in many mixed and survey shows including the V&A Museum, Tate Gallery, RA Summer Exhibition, Cornerhouse Manchester, Bluecoat Liverpool and The National Trust.

• Entomology opened on Wednesday and will run until November 22.