Art and Design / October 11, 2023

Hugh Lane Gallery is Hosting Ireland’s Largest ever Andy Warhol Exhibition

Silver Clouds Installation view Hugh Lane Gallery. Photography by Denis Mortell 2023.
Art and Design / October 11, 2023

Hugh Lane Gallery is Hosting Ireland’s Largest ever Andy Warhol Exhibition

Words: Izzy Copestake

The 250 piece-strong collection is open to the public until January 28th, 2024.

For Hugh Lane Gallery, this exhibition has been over five years in the making. Loaning hundreds of pieces from museums and private collections across the globe, Andy Warhol Three Times Out is one of the most anticipated shows in the Irish arts calendar this year.

Ireland’s been waiting 26 years since it’s last Warhol exhibition, but this huge collection has been worth the wait. The gallery will showcase all of the artist’s iconic works, from Soup Cans to Electric Chairs and portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy and Chairman Mao. 

The eclectic collection of Warhol’s work also includes sculptures, most notably ‘Silver Clouds’, which was first displayed in a gallery in New York 57 years ago and is set to be a standout instillation over the next few months. Hypnotising chrome silver pillows hover above visitors, slowly turning through the air. Changes in the room’s pressure, the viewer’s interaction with the piece and clouds colliding with each other result in a unique display, totally dependant on the time of visit or where onlookers choose to stand in the room.

Warhol’s work is being exhibited in Dublin over 60 years after the artist’s heyday, but Dr Barbara Dawson insists that in world which is chronically online, his work holds just as much relevance today:

“As society navigates the age of social media and surveillance capitalism… it is impossible to overlook [how] Warhol’s prescient vision so relevant to us today.” -Dr. Barbara Dawson, Director of Hugh Lane Gallery

Hugh Lane Gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday, you can book tickets online here to avoid disappointment.

Elsewhere on District: IMMA announce Earth Rising, a free festival of creativity centred around a sustainable future,  Artist Spotlight: Khanyi Mbukwane