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'Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei' Exhibition Opens

Every art lover’s dream of seeing the two icons together comes true at the National Gallery Of Victoria.
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Ai Weiwei. Chinese 1957–. At the Museum of Modern Art 1987 from the New York Photographs series 1983–93 silver gelatin photograph Ai Weiwei Studio. © Ai Weiwei; Andy Warhol artwork © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ARS, New York. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney.

The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne brings together two of the most monumental artists of the 20th and 21st centuries—Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei. Visitors to the Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibition will have the joy of viewing over 120 works by Weiwei (including five new works specially commissioned for the exhibition) side by side with over 200 works by Warhol, allowing them to see the full scope of both artists’ practices. “Be it a soup can or a bike, the works of Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei have the power to transform the everyday, inviting us to imagine possibilities and to see things in a different light,” says Martin Foley, Australian Minister for Creative Industries. Both artists are known for redefining the role of the artist and for portraying their individual societies through a piercingly clever and fearlessly direct lens. Ai Weiwei himself commented, “I believe this is a very interesting and important exhibition and an honor for me to have the opportunity to be exhibited alongside Andy Warhol. This is a great privilege for me as an artist.”

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New commissions by Ai Weiwei include a piece made from donated Lego-style bricks called Letgo Room. 2,000,000 plastic building blocks feature portraits of 20 activists who advocate on issues of human rights, freedom of information, and freedom of speech, including Julian Assange, Peter Greste, and Rosalie Kunoth-Monks. Other new works include Blossom, a large bed made of thousands of porcelain flowers, and Bird Balloons, an inflatable floating piece created in response to Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds from 1966.  Additionally, a fresh bouquet of flowers will be added each day of the exhibition to the bicycle that stood outside Ai Weiwei’s Beijing studio for 600 days, which signified his inability to travel. Now that his passport has been returned, the bouquets are placed in honor of those whose liberties are still restricted. Seeing the art of the two most influential and provocative artists of the last hundred years side by side sends an inspirational and uplifting message to viewers that art remains alive with purpose and progress.

Check out some of the works in the show below:

Christopher Makos. Andy Warhol in Tiananmen Square 1982. © Christopher Makos 1982, makostudio.com

Andy Warhol. American 1928–87. Cat Collage (from 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy) c. 1954 ink, Dr. Martin's Aniline dye, and collage on Strathmore paper. 73.7 x 58.4 cm. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ARS, New York. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney.

Ai Weiwei. Chinese 1957–. Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China 1995 from the Study of Perspective series 1995–2011. gelatin silver photograph. various dimensions. Ai Weiwei Studio. © Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei. Chinese 1957–. Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn 1995 3 silver gelatin photographs. 148.0 x 120.0 cm each (triptych). Ai Weiwei Studio © Ai Weiwei

Andy Warhol. American 1928–87. You're In 1967. spray paint on glass bottles in printed wooden crate. Crate: 20.3 x 43.2 x 30.5 cm. Bottles (each): 20.3 x 5.7 cm. Diameter: 18.7 cm. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ARS, New York. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney.

Andy Warhol. American 1928–87. Self-Portrait with Skull 1977. PolaroidTM Polacolor Type 108. 10.8 x 8.6 cm. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 1998.1.2866 © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ARS, New York. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney.

Ai Weiwei. Chinese 1957–. S.A.C.R.E.D. 2011–13 (detail). 6 dioramas; fibreglass, iron 377.0 x 197.0 x 148.4 cm (each) Ai Weiwei Studio © Ai Weiwei

Steve Schapiro. Andy Warhol Blowing Up Silver Cloud Pillow, Los Angeles 1966. © Steve Schapiro; Andy Warhol artwork © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ARS, New York. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney. 

Ai Weiwei. Chinese 1957–. Forever Bicycles, 2011, installation view at Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio © Ai Weiwei

Andy Warhol. American 1928–87. Gun 1981–82. acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. 177.8 x 228.6 x 3.2 cm. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 1998.1.274 © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ARS, New York. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney.

The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Exploding Plastic Inevitable (EPI) gallery © Abby Warhola

Andy Warhol. American 1928–87. Campbell's Soup II: Tomato-Beef Noodle O's. 1969. screen print on paper. 88.9 x 58.4 cm. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ARS, New York. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney.

Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei is on view at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne from December 11, 2015 through April 24, 2016 and then at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh from June 4 through August, 2016.

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Tagged:AustraliaAi WeiweimelbourneAndy WarholExhibitionmuseumNational Gallery of VictoriaCreators
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