Entrance to the first floor gallery, sneaking a peek at Camoflage, 1986
Butterfly Day, 1955
Brillo, 1970 and Muhammad Ali by Andy Warhol poster, 1978
Andy Warhol designed posters and commercial work
Dollar sign, 1981 and Cow, 1966
The De La Warr Pavilion is always a great weekend drive out - it's an amazing building, there's always an interesting exhibition on and the cafe has such delicious cake, what's not to like?! But until 26 February 2012 there's an added bonus to taking a trip out there...
Warhol is Here, the best collection of Andy Warhol work I've ever seen in one place. I've read a lot about this exhibition over the last month, but I was still amazed by it's size and content. There are some of Warhol's most iconic pieces in little old Bexhill, pieces I've discussed and written about in many art history lectures and essays so to see them in all their enourmity was a real treat.
The ground floor gallery guides you through the main part of his career from early pan & ink illustrations, through his commercial works, self-portraits, photography and on to some of his most famous 60's and 70's pieces; the wonderful Marilyn Diptych (1962), all ten Mao (1972) screenprints, the Brillo Boxes (1968), two prints from the Campbell's Soup series (Green Pea & Tomato, both 1968) and a selection of the Electric Chair series.
The First floor gallery, papered floor to ceiling in the bright pink & yellow cow print, focusses on Warhol's later 80's work including one of my favourite pieces - the giant bold and brash Dollar Sign (1981).
And for those with enough energy to make it to the rooftop foyer, there's a sound installation by Dr. Jean Wainwright to accompany the exhibition. Tape recordings of interviews, stories and conversations about Andy Warhol with those that knew him well.
I can't recommend this exhibition enough, it's exhibition of the year for me and to top it all, it's free admission!
"The show is assembled from a selection of works from ARTIST ROOMS, (a new collection of modern and contemporary art held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation), as well as those sourced from Tate collection, The British Museum, V&A, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery other private collections."
All works copyright of The Andy Warhol Foundation for The Visual Arts, Artists Rights Society (ARS, New York/DACS London
