HOTA — Rhys John Kaye

HOTA pop masters exhibition featuring, Warhol, Haring, Basquiat, Kaye

movie screening of signs of life documentary at HOTA during rhys john kaye artist talk

HOTA POP TALKS - WITH RHYS JOHN KAYE

IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ‘POP MASTERS’ EXHIBITION : ART FROM THE MUGRABI COLLECTION, NEW YORK

“In a world exclusive exhibition, Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York, pairs Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat alongside artists inspired by their legacy. Together they paint a unique picture of Pop Art across the past 60 years to present Australia.” HOTA Gallery.

“The exhibition comprises 54 artworks, with around half being pieces by Warhol. Also included are works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring in conversation with artists Katherine Bernhardt, Kwesi Botchway, George Condo, Damien Hirst, KAWS, Jeff Koons, Joel Mesler, Richard Prince, Tom Sachs, Julian Schnabel, Mickalene Thomas and Tom Wesselmann.

We wanted to ensure Warhol was well represented and showing that connection of where he fits in this kind of overarching Pop universe,” Cooper-Lavery, HOTA.

artist talk by rhys john kaye at HOTA for Pop Masters exhibition

painted mural by rhys john kaye as seen in pop masters exhibition artist talks at HOTA museum — *EASY TO BREAK, HARD TO KILL -* By Rhys John Kaye, Displayed in HOTA Pop Talks.

Words from an exhibition summary by Gina Fairley for ARTSHUB

“The exhibition is loosely sectioned into zones that celebrate Warhol, then Haring and lastly Basquiat, with each zone peppered by other artists both from that period and later influenced by it. Among the line-up of works is Keith Haring’s epic Untitled (Dancing Dogs) (1981) – which Cooper-Lavery says was loaned to HOTA in preference to a request from The Broad Museum in Los Angeles for its upcoming Haring survey. ‘It feels like we’ve pulled a piece of New York street art straight off a wall and into the gallery,’ she says of this iconic painting.

It sits within view of George Condo’s Untitled (Choo Choo) 2009, Haring’s stylised dogs bouncing off the Top Cat character. Condo was a studio assistant for Warhol in the Factory on his superheroes series.

Another star piece is Jean-Michel Basquiat’s New York, New York (1981) – said to be one of the first he exhibited in a commercial gallery blurring that crossover of street art and ‘high art’ – sitting within view of a new Collection commission by KAWS (and never exhibited before), the 2.8-metre tall bronze sculpture, What Party (2018). Cooper-Lavery says it extends the Pop vernacular to a next generation, and allows those narratives and influences to weave across time.

This sits alongside Damien Hirst’s When They Were Down They Were Down (2007), a steel and glass shelved installation displaying 4500 pills. ‘Every single pill has a position, has a physical direction in the way it’s got to sit, with instructions how it should be placed. So [it’s] carrying forward from Warhol’s Factory to these artists, who have their own kind of factory to produce these extraordinary things, like Jeff Koons or Damien Hirst. There’s a chance their hand hasn’t even been in these works,’ explains Cooper-Lavery.

Overall, the scale and quality of the works on display is exciting, and offers a viewing experience commensurate with any world-class museum.”

artist talk by rhys john kaye during the pop masters new york exhibition

oil painting of a train and skull by rhys john kaye exhibited in melbourne australia — **ENTERING PARADISE THROUGH A HATCH - By Rhys John Kaye, Displayed in HOTA Pop Talks**