Courtesy ADN Galeria

Eugenio Merino's Damien Hirst spoof "For the Love of Gold"

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"Hirst is always trying to think of ways to make his art the most expensive," the artist told Bloomberg. "If he killed himself, then the value of his art would increase a lot."

The work, called For the Love of Gold, in a riff on Hirst's $100 million diamond-and-platinum skull called For the Love of God, shows the artist kneeling with a Colt 45 pressed against his temple. The silicone figure uses real human hair and glass eyes and is wearing a skull T-shirt. It's housed inside a tank similar to the ones Hirst has used for his works that preserve animals in formaldehyde.

The work, on offer at the booth of Barcelona's ADN Galeria, sold to a collector in Florida for $33,500. ARCO closed yesterday.