The works of the king of Pop Art and other great artists connected to him will be on display at the former Convento del Carmine from 15 June to 13 October 2024.
MODICA – Andy Warhol, icon of the 20th century and father of Pop Art, arrives, through his works and those of a group of artist friends, in Modica, a baroque city that is a World Heritage Site in the heart of South East Sicily. One of the most important and eagerly awaited art events of the Sicilian summer will be inaugurated on Saturday 15 June, the exhibition “Andy Warhol and POP Friends”, curated by Graziano Menolascina, organized by the Fondazione Teatro Garibaldi, in collaboration with the newspaper La Sicilia, with “Domenico Sanfilippo Editore”, DSE Pubblicità and Mutika Emc. The exhibition has the support of the Region, the Ars, the Free Consortium of Ragusa and the Municipality of Modica and the support of various sponsors. Hosted until October 13th in the evocative former Convento del Carmine, in the central Piazza Matteotti, the exhibition will encompass a creative universe with a thousand expressions. Over 100 works from foundations, archives and important private collections will be exhibited. Of the works on display, around 60 are by the famous American artist Andy Warhol, and the remaining surprising works bear the signature of a group of friends and colleagues who lived and shared with him in New York the great artistic change of the Sixties. Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Bowes, Francesco Clemente, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtestein, Robert Rauschenberg who together contributed to redefining the boundaries of art and transforming mass culture into a work of art. The Italian art critic and academic prof. Graziano Menolascina, artistic director of the Prac Center for Contemporary Art, has created an engaging and evocative exhibition itinerary, capable of immersing the public in the lively and kaleidoscopic world of Pop Art. The journey of this exceptional exhibition began in the 1960s and brings the colorful and eclectic world of Andy Warhol to Modica. From polaroids taken by the artist with which he portrayed well-known artists and prominent figures of that era to the very famous serigraphs in which the most pop faces of the second half of the twentieth century are represented, starting from the series dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, a star who was transformed by Warhol as a symbol of mass culture and American society. Also on display are other famous serigraphs, and many unique works, among which “Vesuvius” stands out, a large acrylic on canvas from 1985, created during the period of stay in Naples during the exhibition by the well-known gallery owner Lucio Amelio, and some of the most famous and iconic ” Self-Portrait”, very famous self-portraits by the internationally renowned artist. Continuing with the flowers series, the portrait of his artist friend Joseph Beuys, Mickey Mouse, Mao and many others. “The exhibition, curated by Graziano Menolascina, suggests a journey into the lively and kaleidoscopic world of Pop Art of the Sixties and Seventies – explain Maria Monisteri and Tonino Cannata, respectively president and superintendent of the Foundation – It is a unique and wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in some of the works that have truly marked an epochal change in the world, which show how art has taken its place within it between Italy and America”. And also from the curator Menolascina comes the invitation to visit the exhibition-event which will be the subject of study and guided tours: “The exhibition I conceived is nothing more than a way, bordering on ploy, to retrace one of the artistic scenes most revolutionary in the history of humanity, which has become a universal symbol, a global phenomenon that has radically changed the relationship between artistic creation and society”. The objective of the Garibaldi Theater Foundation is to spread culture, as already explained during the press conference dedicated to all the summer events, also by the vice-president, lawyer. Giorgio Rizza, and by the regional deputy the Hon. Ignazio Abbate (who highlighted the synergy with the Region), and Prof Paolo Nifosì, consultant for the visual arts of the Foundation. Info on the website. www.fondazioneteatrogaribaldi.com and online ticket office on ciaoticket.
