Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art is celebrating its first year with an exhibition of one of the 20th centuries most prolific and influential artists. Receiving national and international attention, in something of a coup for Queensland, Brisbane is holding the first major Andy Warhol retrospective ever held in Australia – until March 30. Three hundred of his works are being showcased at the Gallery of Modern Art. While other Australian capital cities may gripe over the location, it is about time Brisbane received some well-deserved recognition for its revamped cultural centre and thriving art scene.
At the forefront of the blurring between abstract expressionism and pop art, his extreme eccentricities and overt flamboyant demeanour may have irritated many – but that aside, there can be no denying Andy Warhol's genius for introducing the world to Pop art and a new way of seeing the currency of celebrity and consumption. Was it that he was ahead of his time or that he was one of the first " Pop Stars"?
Warhol said: "Pop Art is about liking everyday things." His unique view of consumption led to the mass production of his famous Brillo box installations, Coca Cola bottle screen prints and, of course, arguably his most well-known pieces – the Campbell's Soup Cans prints.
But it was his less known pieces, the commercial catalogue sketches and advertising designs on paper, that impressed me the most, showing the true range of his craft. Little known to many, before his prolific rise, Warhol was an accomplished commercial artist, highly in demand to some of New York's top advertising agencies. But his ambition, talent and obsession with fame dictated his rise to produce the pieces his name is more commonly associated with. The exhibition showcases his foray into filming, photography and the screen tests he amassed along the way. Perhaps the most fascinating of all pieces on show were the three "Time Capsules" – Warhol's private collection of photographs, paper clippings, personal letters and correspondence with galleries and fans, and even a rejection letter from The Guggenheim Museum.
In all, 300 Warhol pieces can be overkill at 10 o'clock in the morning. However, it's not every day you can say you saw such a fantastic display of Warhol pieces under one roof in good old "country" Brisbane.
Truman Capote once described Warhol as a window decorator, "one of those hopeless people, you know nothing is going to happen to in life, just a born loser" (sic). It could be debated Warhol's name will linger on longer than Mr Capote's, which serves as proof that his obsession with fame and becoming famous was fruitful. Warhol became the figurehead of an art genre that has influenced so much in contemporary times all while creating one of the most unique and intriguing people of the 20th century – Andy Warhol himself.
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