Member of the influential ‘Young British Artists’ group

Angus Fairhurst, one of the “Young British Artists” who stormed the international art scene in the 1990s, has died. He was 41.

Fairhurst’s spokeswoman, Erica Bolton, said he committed suicide Saturday during a walk in a remote part of Scotland. She did not specify how he died.

Born in 1966 in Penbury in southern England, Fairhurst studied at London’s Goldsmiths College in the 1980s, where his contemporaries included Damien Hirst, Gary Hume and Sarah Lucas.

They and their work -- first shown in the 1988 exhibition “Freeze” -- were central to the group of provocative and playful young artists dubbed the “Young British Artists.”

Patronage by collector Charles Saatchi and intense media attention brought riches and fame to several of the group, notably Hirst and Tracey Emin.

Fairhurst had a lower profile and, according to the Guardian newspaper, was “probably best known for his bronze gorilla sculptures.”

But he also worked in a range of media, including photography, paintings, sculptures and installations. His work was shown around the world and included in the 2000 “Apocalypse” exhibition at the Royal Academy.

In 2004, Fairhurst, Lucas and Hirst collaborated on the “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” show at the Tate Britain gallery in London.

Fairhurst’s last show was last month at London’s Sadie Coles gallery.

Tate Britain director Nicholas Serota said Fairhurst “made some of the most engaging, witty and perceptive works of his generation and was an enormously influential friend of other British artists who came to prominence in the early ‘90s. We shall all miss him greatly.”

Hirst called Fairhurst a great artist and friend.

“He always supported me, in fair weather and foul,” Hirst said. “He shone like the moon, and as an artist he had just the right amount of slightly round the bend. I loved him.”

Lucas, who according to the Independent newspaper had a relationship with Fairhurst, said: “Angus was a lovely man. Funny and kind. Very much loved by all his friends. Very much loved by me.”

Strathclyde police said the body of a 41-year-old man -- believed to be Fairhurst -- had been found Saturday afternoon in woodland in the Scottish Highlands. They said that an autopsy would be conducted but that foul play was not suspected.

Fairhurst is survived by his mother, Sally; and a brother, Charles.