Check Out the Controversial Shark Art at the Palms’ New Lounge

The Palms looks to add some controversy when it debuts a new lobby bar on Thursday complete with a piece of art showcasing a shark severed into three pieces.

The artwork from British artist Damien Hirst stands still in time, lurking over the new Unknown Bar in the lobby of the Palms. The 13-foot tiger shark, caught by a fisherman in Australia, sits in three segments of steel and glass tanks, preserved in formaldyhyde. The bar gets its name from the artwork, dubbed The Unknown (Explored, Explained, Exploded) from 1999.

The bar, part of the $620 million renovation of the Palms, debuts tonight with another nine of Hirst’s Pharmaceutical Spot series of paintings, which show up everywhere in the ivory space. Matchbooks, the felts of the nearby gaming tables, coasters, and swizzle sticks all get the Hirst treatment, The Los Angeles Times reports, referring to napkins with orange and yellow spots to stir sticks adorned with scarlet, yellow, and powder blue tablets atop.

All sits inside a lounge bedecked in cream leather banquettes decorated with ivory silk throw pillows. A white marble bar greets guests.

The Hirst lounge marks his first hospitality project since he worked on Pharmacy 2, the restaurant at his Newport Street Gallery in London in 2016.

The Palms promises that the new Scotch 80 Prime, Camden Cocktail Lounge, and Apex Social Club land their own works of art by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Takashi Murakami, Christopher Wool, Dustin Yellin, and Richard Prince along with sculptures and paintings from street artists such as KAWS and Jason Revok.

• How Damien Hirst shark art came to swim above the new bar at the Palm in Vegas [LAT]

• Keeping Tabs on the Changes at the Palms [ELV]