Pop! Icons of the 20th century

Eames Fine Art Gallery

58 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD

Whenever we consider Pop Art, the names Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Indiana usually spring to mind immediately. Indeed, these three extremely successful American artists brought glamour and popular culture to an early 1960s New York art world tired of Abstract Expressionism’s highbrow exclusivity. But although Pop Art shot to fame and became wildly and successfully fashionable in America, the movement didn’t originate there; it was first developed in post-war Britain, where a small number of artists began to consider the possibilities of using bright pop-cultural references in fine art. Joe Tilson, Eduardo Paolozzi, Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton were arguably the pioneers of one of the most famous international art movements of the 20^th century.

This exhibition celebrates some of the pioneers of Pop Art as well as the iconic turning points in the movement’s development, from Paolozzi’s ambitious ‘Moonstrips Empire News’ portfolio, to Warhol’s multiple printed versions of Marilyn Monroe, and Robert Indiana’s iconic ‘LOVE’ screenprint poems. We have also enjoyed adding additional works to this show by some of our favourite recent and contemporary printmakers such as Keith Haring, Harvey Daniels, Sophie Layton and Shepard Fairey amongst others who also incorporate pop culture into their work and continue in the tradition of this iconic movement.

Andy Warhol is indisputably the most famous of all Pop artists. His life and work simultaneously satirised and celebrated materiality and celebrity.

Warhol started his career as a successful commercial illustrator and this early work formed his interest in manipulating popular images. He was also fascinated with fame and was enchanted by Marilyn Monroe. Shortly after her death he set out to pay tribute to her with his Marilyn edition prints. Through Warhol, Monroe is both the epitome of the American Dream and a universally recognised image burned into the collective conscience – the modern Mona Lisa.

The Campbell’s Soup Cans, Dollar Signs and Flowers followed shortly after. The 60s were ground-breaking years in Warhol’s career. It was a time when he developed his signature style, and today the works from this period are considered his most important and are very highly sought after.