Liverpool’s Tate Gallery is hosting the first ever solo Andy Warhol exhibition in the North of England.
The iconic pop artist’s work will be displayed in the ‘Transmitting Andy Warhol’ display until February 8th 2015 and gives visitors an insight into his working methods, influences and legacy.
The exhibition, which opened at the weekend, features a vast array of more than 100 works from various international collections, spanning the many genres he worked in.
Renowned for being one of the first multimedia artists, Warhol had a hand in advertising, photography, films and music. With a strong interest in celebrity culture, he also coined the now-legendary prediction that: “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.”
Tate Liverpool said in a statement: “Andy Warhol remains one of the most important and influential artists of the post war period. Warhol’s transmission of ideas and imagery brought to life his democratic conviction that ‘art should be for everyone’.
“By presenting Warhol in the context of the mass information networks of his time, the exhibition reveals the artist’s role in re-defining access to culture and art as we understand it today.”
Video report by Emma Menio, JMU Journalism TV
In 1966, Warhol also helped launch the career of the equally ground-breaking band, the Velvet Underground, which included rock icon Lou Reed. His live multimedia show featuring the group will be the subject of a presentation at the gallery by Professor Glyn Davis of Edinburgh University on 6th December.
It will also analyse Warhol’s role as the band’s manager. For the first time in the North, visitors will also be able to view some of Warhol’s most iconic images, including ‘Flowers’ and ‘Marilyn Screenprint’, an image of Marilyn Monroe which he famously reproduced in a huge array of different shades and colours.
The Tate has said that Warhol ‘transmitted’ these images back into the public realm “using processes of serial repetition and mass dispersal, establishing new approaches to distribute his work”.
Other instantly recognisable pieces include ‘Campbell’s Soup’, ‘Dance Diagram 1’ and the ‘Do it Yourself’ series. A book – ‘Tate Introductions: Warhol’ – written by the Tate’s assistant curator, Stephanie Straine, will be released to mark the exhibition.