April 12, 2018 – A collection of 90 works of the celebrated pop-art icon is on its way to Dalmatia – and it’s here to stay for the summer
Art lovers, listen up! If you’ve started to work on your summer itineraries, make sure to add Zadar to the list – the city is set to become one of the leading Croatian hotspots for art and culture. After last year’s retrospective of Marc Chagall called ‘Beyond Color’ which was seen by more than 14.000 visitors, this summer will be marked by another world-famous artistic icon: Andy Warhol!
City Museum Zadar has teamed up with Rebel Kolektiv, the Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art from Medzilaborce in Slovakia, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Art from New York, coming up with a phenomenal exhibition that is set to attract thousands of visitors to the Rector’s Palace in Zadar.
This international collaboration has resulted in a collection of 90 works selected by the experts and headed for the city in Dalmatia. Screenprints, drawings, various memorabilia and video works, all of them meant to paint a picture of the intriguing figure that was Andy Warhol – a persona that escapes any attempt of definition, his unique character and career still a source of fascination for art lovers around the world.
Born in 1928 to a poor family of Slovak emigrants, Warhol became a famous American artist, director and producer by the early 60s, an undisputed icon of the pop-art movement. His work is best described as artistic exploration of the phenomena of celebrity culture and the advertising industry, carried out in various media such as painting, silk screen printing, photography, film and sculpture. There’s not a person out there who hasn’t seen at least several of Warhol’s iconic works – Campbell’s Soup Cans, Marilyn Diptich, Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster), the experimental film Chelsea Girls… the list goes on and on, and we’ll have an opportunity to see some of the famous pieces displayed on the walls of the Rector’s Palace.
The exhibition in Zadar is a result of a first-time collaboration with the mentioned Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art from Slovakia. The institution was founded in 1991 in Medzilaborc, the hometown of Warhol’s parents, by the artist’s brothers and the Slovak Ministry of Culture. It’s managed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts from New York.
AWMMA is home to 160 of Warhol’s works, the collection mostly composed of drawings, screenprints and memorabilia, along with some works created by the artist’s brother and nephew, Paul and James Warhol respectively. Known as the first institution focusing on the life and work of Andy Warhol that exhibits his masterpieces all over the world, AWMMA is dedicated to education, science and research activities in domains of theory of visual arts and contemporary art.
Starting from June 15, the exhibition will open for visitors, accompanied by an arrray of attractive events and activities. The famous Warhol’s saying provided a name for 15 minutes of fame, a programme featuring young musicians, performers, photographers, video artists, dances, designers, singers and other creatives, offering them a chance to showcase their talent at the Rector’s Palace.
Another blast from the past? Studio54, a weekly event set to take place on Friday nights, with costumed young actors from the association Drama Plus to liven up the palace atrium. Then, KidsOn: a daily creative workshop devised for the youngest budding artists who will be painting tins inspired by Campbell Soup or filling in colouring books inspired by the famous Marilyn image. Creative LAB, a series of educational workshops for all generations that will have its participants learning the basics of video editing, design, advertising, photo editing, and social media literacy. You just have to wonder what Warhol would have thought of that last item on the list, were he still around to witness the digital age.
And for the grand finale… Happy Birthday, Mr. Andy, a spectacular celebration of the artist’s 90th anniversary of birth. On August 6, the Drama Plus ensemble will perform an original play they’ve been working on for a year, aiming to explore the cultural phenomenon that was Andy Warhol.
The exhibition will remain on display for three months, closing on September 15, 2018. This summer, all roads will be leading to Zadar!
Source: eZadar
