LONDON/NEW YORK.- Bono and Damien Hirst have joined forces with Sotheby’s and Gagosian Gallery to organise the most significant charity auction of Contemporary Art ever - The (RED) Auction - which will be held at Sotheby’s in New York on Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14th, 2008. The proceeds are to go the United Nations Foundation to support HIV/AIDS relief programs in Africa conducted by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The sale at Sotheby’s (1334 York Avenue) will be preceded by a preview exhibition of the works at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea (522 W. 21st Street) from February 4th to 13th, 2008. A dedicated website will be posted in mid-December and a special catalogue for the sale will be available from mid-January. The estimate for the auction is expected to be in excess of $40 million.

Damien Hirst contacted over 100 of the world’s leading artists to ask them to contribute works for the auction inspired by the colour red. The response has been exceptional, with offers of major works from Matthew Barney, Georg Baselitz, Cecily Brown, Douglas Gordon, Antony Gormley, Subodh Gupta, Andreas Gursky, Sir Howard Hodgkin, Gary Hume, Jasper Johns, Anish Kapoor, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Marc Newson, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Richard Prince, Marc Quinn, Ed Ruscha, Yinka Shonibare, Sam Taylor-Wood, Keith Tyson and Bernar Venet, among others.

Damien Hirst has himself contributed seven works to the auction, among them a red heart-shaped butterfly painting entitled All You Need is Love, a red rectangular butterfly painting entitled Love You and a pill cabinet entitled Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way, which is filled with HIV antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV. The value of Hirst’s work included in the sale is in excess of $8 million.

“I remember when I couldn’t give my art away, it wasn’t long ago either,” said Damien Hirst. “What is there left to say? Money is a key and what we raise from this auction will make a huge difference for a lot of people. For a relatively small amount of effort on each artist’s part we can actually save many lives. It’s great to be able to give something back and make a difference.”

“Hirst, Baselitz, Kiefer, Taylor-Wood, Gormley, Johns, Koons – look at this list of names,” said Bono.

“This is the best collection of art from the best artists in the world. I love art for art’s sake but what we have here is a real moment in art history. Damien is being too modest – the effort of these artists is considerable, the impact immeasurable. His ‘Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way’ provides the neatest, completest metaphor: a pill-becomes-art-becomes-a-pill, that’s as close to framing saving a life as you’re going to get.”

Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said: “Great news! (RED) keeps being so innovative - the (RED) auction at Sotheby's is a wonderful idea, the list of artists incredibly impressive. In one year, (RED) has become one of the key donors to the Global Fund, helping thousands of AIDS patients access life-saving treatment in Africa. This is truly solidarity without borders."

Cheyenne Westphal, Sotheby’s Chairman of Contemporary Art for Europe, and Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s Senior Specialist of Contemporary Art in London, said: “We are so proud to be involved in such an extraordinary, fresh and original project and to be able to support (RED) and the Global Fund. Many of the most creative and spirited artists working in the world today have been exceptionally generous with their donations and we look forward to an historic sale.”

Millicent Wilner, Director of Gagosian Gallery London, added: “Damien’s commitment to this project has been tremendous and his enthusiasm has inspired other great artists to give truly exciting and impressive works. The (RED) exhibition and auction promise to highlight the best of art being made today and we are delighted to contribute to this worthy cause.”