NGV To Celebrate Andy Warhol & Ai Weiwei In Major Exhibition

In a symmetrical announcement sure to make fans of artists with the initials A.W. wild with frenzied excitement, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has revealed that it will collaborate with The Andy Warhol Museum from December for a very special exhibition.

The Gallery announced this morning that they will be dedicating the exhibit to displaying works from visual artists Andy Warhol and Aei Weiwei in an attempt to explore modern and contemporary art, life and cultural politics through the activities of two exemplary figures, highlighting the similarities in approach between the two visual artists.

If you thought your excitement levels couldn't get any higher, wait until you hear the announcement for their children's installation: a large-scale installation designed especially for children and families that highlights both artists' love of cats.

The displays will be accompanied by three major illustrated publications featuring a series of essay that will explore the conceptual, formal, strategic and historical resonances between both artists’ work.

The NGV boasts that there will be over 200 of Warhol's most celebrated works on display, including his iconic sculptures, films, illustrations, photography portraits, paintings and silkscreens; and yes, Campbell's Soup will be among the works of his shown that explore consumer society, fame and celebrity, media, advertising, and politics.

The work of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, one of China’s most provocative practicing artists, addresses some of the most critical global issues of the early twenty-first century, including the relationship between tradition and modernity, the role of the individual and the state, questions of human rights, and the value of freedom of expression.

A suite of his major commissions will be premiered, as well as a new installation, and key works from his early drawings, ready-mades, painting, sculpture and photography from across the past four decades, forming the most comprehensive representation of the artist’s work in Australia to date.

Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, which will be held at the NGV from 11 December this year — 24 April 2016, continues the gallery’s recently established Contemporary Summer Series, and will occupy all of the major exhibition galleries on the ground floor at NGV International over the summer of 2015–16, after which time it will subsequently be presented at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh in North America during summer 2016.

For more information, head to the NGV website.