An unprecedented exhibition dedicated to iconic American pop artist Andy Warhol is now on show at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art. With roughly 200 paintings, photographs, films and other materials borrowed from The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, USA, this retrospective is the largest Andy Warhol exhibition Kyoto has ever seen.
Exhibits are divided into five main sections: ‘From Pittsburgh to New York’, ‘Birth of Pop Artist Warhol’, ‘Transience and Eternity’, ‘Light and Shadow’ and ‘Warhol, Japan and Kyoto'. Highlights include iconic works such as the ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ as well as over 100 pieces that have never been displayed in Japan before.
In the ‘From Pittsburgh to New York’ chapter, fans can reflect on Warhol’s early years and pore over work he was commissioned to do before his pop art breakthrough. ‘Birth of Pop Artist Warhol’, on the other hand, focuses on his rise to fame in the '60s.
Meanwhile, the ‘Warhol, Japan and Kyoto’ chapter looks back to Warhol’s first visit to Japan and Kyoto, when he was on a world tour in 1956. This part of the exhibition features an array of sketches, souvenirs and keepsakes that the artist – who obsessively documented every snapshot of his life – collected during his two-week visit to Japan’s ancient former capital.
It’s worth noting that this particular exhibition will only be held at a single venue – Kyocera Museum of Art – and will not be touring other museums in Japan after the exhibition ends in February 2023. So it’s best to start planning your trip to Kyoto now.
Tickets are available for ¥2,000 per adult on weekdays (weekends ¥2,200), ¥1,400 for university and high school students, and ¥800 for junior high school and elementary school students. You can book tickets with your smartphone, or buy them at the venue on the day.
Andy Warhol Kyoto is on now until February 12 2023 at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art. For more information, see the exhibition website.
This article was originally published on June 7 and updated on October 11.
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