Lucy Cleere tells you why you shouldn't miss Hugh Lane Gallery's first Andy Warhol exhibition
I first noticed the advertisements for the Warhol exhibition while walking down Grafton Street this week, and excitedly pointed the posters out to a friend, saying we should go. She replied with, “hmm who's Andy Warhol though, other than that Electric Picnic campsite? He does sound familiar though”. Within seconds I drew to mind the distinctive Campbells Soup and iconic Marilyn Monroe pop art posters, and she was sold.
This is the beauty of Warhol, his genre was nearly undefinable, but the impact he made on the contemporary art scene inevitably earned him the respect of becoming a defined household name. Renowned manager of the Velvet Underground, Warhol caused a ripple effect through the brewing music and art scene in New York and Los Angeles in the 60s. He weaved in and out of this over his 40-year career, never sticking but always inspiring.
Warhols distinctive artistic quality was the dismissal of traditional distinctions between fine art and pop culture. Within the highbrow climate of the Dublin literary, artistic and cultural scene that is evident throughout the amenities our historical city has to offer, such as the National Art Gallery and the Museum of Literature, this could not be more important. Art should be accessible and appreciated by everyone, not just those with an art history degree. The power of Warhol’s contemporary art focuses on fundamental human themes such as the beauty and glamour of youth, material culture, the passing of time, and the inevitably of death.
The exhibition opened in Hugh Lane Gallery on the 6th of October and will run until the 28th of January. The gallery has been working on this unique exhibition for over five years which includes more than 250 works borrowed from museums and private collections in the US, Canada, Europe and the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. With student tickets priced at a tenner, this event is surely unmissable!