In the gallery of the National Museum in Kragujevac, the exhibition “Andy Warhol” has been opened.
To the sounds of David Bowie, Velvet Underground, Blondie, Lou Reed… the “Andy Warhol” exhibition was officially opened in the gallery of the National Museum in Kragujevac, as part of the accompanying program of Arsenal Fest 2024.
The producers of this masterful exhibition, consisting of well-chosen graphics by Lazar Vujic, one of the most prominent European gallerists, addressed the large number of gathered residents of Kragujevac.
The producers of the exhibition, Mihajlo Nestorovic and Zoran Vulovic
Marija Gajović“This exhibition means a lot to us as organizers. Arsenal Fest has brought great world stars to this city, but I can proudly say that we are bringing one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Andy Warhol. His strong connection with music and musicians led us as organizers to bring this exhibition, thanks to friends, the help of friends, and serious effort,” said Zoran Vulovic, one of the exhibition producers and the festival director, and added:
“Arsenal Fest has been trying for years to be a slightly different festival, not just a festival that brings only music, but to bring some new values. Above all, for the kids, for a new generation to whom we need to explain that life doesn’t just happen on the internet, on social networks. Life exists in galleries, in museums, at concerts.”
Mihajlo Nestorovic, the exhibition producer and representative of the Visconti Fine Art gallery, also thanked on behalf of the collection’s owner, Ziva Skodlar Vujic, an art historian, and Lazar Vujic, one of the largest collectors in Europe, to everyone who came to “be part of one of these great world exhibitions,” and added that “this is just a part of the collection that Visconti Fine Art owns.”
Nestorovic emphasized that “this exhibition consists of several sections, several graphic portfolios,” and guided all the attendees through the entire exhibition: from piece to piece.
The greatness of artist Andy Warhol is evident in the fact that one of his portraits of Marilyn Monroe from 1964 was sold for a staggering $195 million, making it the most expensive piece of 20th-century art, with the buyer still undisclosed.
“Shot Sage Blue Marlin” was one of five versions painted in different color schemes by Warhol in 1964. The portraits were based on a promotional photograph from the movie “Niagara” and became even more famous after a woman entered his studio and shot at his Marilyn Monroe works.
“Warhol loved dancing. He dedicated several paintings to Martha Graham. She was a famous dancer who introduced and formed an entire direction in the world of dance art, Graham jazz. She was a beautiful woman, an inspiration to many artists. Warhol often went to her dance studio, enjoyed her performances, and probably never imagined she would outlive all the artists who visited her,” explained Nestorovic.
In the gallery of the National Museum, three works from the portfolio “Ladies and Gentlemen” from 1975, which contains 14 graphic works, are exhibited.
“At first glance, many, except those who know the story, think these are some famous actresses… However, Warhol created a series of graphics of 14 famous New York transvestites and porn actors. This is yet another trick by Andy Warhol to elevate them, glorify them, make them stars, and have everyone bow to them and pay dearly for their portraits. Andy Warhol was actually a passionate photographer. He had a Polaroid camera with which he snapped 50 to 100 photos daily. When he was creating one of these portraits, he would use up to 70 shots to come up with the idea of how one of those portraits should look. Unfortunately, many of these photographs burned one night in his factory, his club, then a gathering place for artists in New York, but a good part was salvaged and is now housed in the Warhol Museum,” explained the producer.
These masterful works will be on display until July 1st.