Roy Lichtenstein In the car 1963 oil and magna on canvas, 172 x 203.5 cm Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Purchased 1980 © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
From November to March, the Art Gallery of New South Wales is offering a wonderful Pop Art collection that all art-lovers will enjoy.
With a rich collection of more than 200 works from over 70 artists, the Art Gallery of NSW has taken its probably most ambitious exhibition to another level.
“The Spectacular artworks on display are drawn from major Australian and international collections including the Andy Warhol Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and Tate,” according to Art Gallery director Michael Brand.
Visitors will have the opportunity to admire the best of famous pop artists, Peter Blake, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Alain Jacquet and also beautiful works by Australian pop artists Richard Larter and Martin Sharp.
Martin Sharp, Mister Tambourine Man 1967, two-colour screenprint red and black ink on gold reflective foil paper 75.4 x 49.8cm. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Thea Proctor Memorial Fund 1970 © Martin Sharp
The exhibition features seven sections: The future is Now, Swinging London, The American Dream, Europ Pop, Made in OZ, Late Pop and Popism. In these different genres and colours are displayed taking the visitor through a wide range of different artistic worlds.
And on that journey, the definition of Pop Art emerges. As part of a defining art movement of the 20th century, artists were inspired by everything they could see in their everyday life, but with a special focus on consumerism: advertising, product design, television, film, journalism, tabloid, celebrity photographs, comic books and product design.
It was a shocking change that began in the post-war period of the 1950s and related to many social and cultural changes. But Pop Art really exploded in the 1960s and continued up to the late 1980s. Shocking for some, freeing the world of its restrictive traditional concepts for others, the Pop Art phenomenon played an important role in the development of contemporary art.
Beside the famous and iconic pop artists from the US, UK and Europe, the Made in OZ section really stands out with some energetic and daring Australian art: Richard Later’s monochrome The Hairdresser and Martin Sharp’s psychedelic Mr Tambourine Man.
The exhibition is aiming to entice the imagination of young artists with “Kids Only” captions beside some paintings, helping emerging young creative minds to understand and explore art, as well as the provision of a colourful corner where they can draw, play and practice becoming pop artists themselves.
And, to give art lovers a break, the Pop Café offers a range of beverages and food with some energetic 1970s pop music as accompaniment.
Getting out of the summer heat with some of the best Pop Art works in the world is definitely a must-do in Sydney this season. Information and tickets here: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/
