Eagerly awaited Warhol exhibiton now open

Apr 23 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

IN December, Perth Museum and Art Gallery was announced as being one of six Scottish institutions to participate in the ‘Artist Rooms on Tour’ programme.

Now this eagerly anticipated exhibition, which focuses on the early drawings, stitched photographs, posters and prints by cult figure Andy Warhol (1929-1987), is open to the public at the George Street venue.

The works in the exhibition are drawn from the collection known as Artist Rooms, a national collection of international post-war and contemporary art acquired by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland in 2008 and originally brought together as a collection by Anthony d’Offay.

Artist Rooms on Tour with The Art Fund, supported by the Scottish Government, has been devised to enable this collection held by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland, to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

There are more than 60 works on show by the American pop artist and icon of 20th century visual arts. The themes in the exhibition are fashion, film and celebrity. Some of the images will be instantly recognizable such as the Marilyn Monroe lithograph of 1962 with multiple images of the screen star fading from colour to black and white as well as images of the branded products wholly associated with Warhol such as Campbell’s Soup and Brillo.

Warhol remains a cult figure of influence on the visual arts today. The exhibition includes a number of self portraits in drawings, stitched photographs and printed images.

A programme of talks, schools workshops, art classes, drop–in craft activities and evening events are planned throughout the run of the exhibition. These include:

l Thursday, April 29, 5pm-7pm: Late opening with a short talk by Dr Glyn Davis of Glasgow School of Art on Warhol as a learning resource.

l Wednesday, August 4, noon-1pm: Lucy Askew, Managing Curator of Artist Rooms will give an introduction to the collection.

l Saturday, September 4, 1pm-3pm: Family fun time based on the Art Styles of Andy Warhol.

l Wednesday, September 8, noon-1pm: Martin Hammer of The University of Edinburgh will give a talk on Warhol and the re-invention of portraiture.

l Friday, September 10: Candle making workshop for adults.

l Saturday, September 25, 1.30pm-3.30pm: Wonderful Warhol: free family fun activities based on the exhibition.

l Friday and Saturday, October 8 and 9: Screen printing workshops for adults.

The exhibition coincides with Perth Festival of the Arts and the Perth 800 celebrations.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery is open Monday-Saturday, 10am until 5pm and Sundays 1pm until 4.30pm. Admission is free. Contact 01738 632488 or go to www.pkc.gov.uk/museums for further information.

Artist Rooms on Tour: Andy Warhol continues at Perth Museum and Art Gallery until October 23.