“The ‘Cherry Blossoms’ are about beauty and life and death. They’re extreme—there’s something almost tacky about them.” This is how Damien Hirst describes his latest project: a collection of 107 canvases depicting cherry blossoms in bloom, begun three years ago and completed last fall. The English painter executed the iconic flowers in thick brushstrokes, playing with texture as well as with a vivid spring color palette. Executed in large format, the works in the “Cherry Blossoms” series represent a break from Hirst’s usual minimalist painting style. With references to Impressionism and Pointillism, the “Cherry Blossoms” represent the latest step in Hirst’s pictorial evolution. This is his first feature exhibition in a French museum. —Sabina Vitale