Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York at HOTA Gallery

Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York 

HOTA Gallery, until 4 June 2023 

Developed by HOTA Gallery on Australia’s Gold Coast, Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York is drawn entirely from one of the world’s most valuable private collections. The gallery’s first major international exhibition, it celebrates the story of Pop and its influence on art and artists today through the work of 15 globally significant figures, many of whom knew each other, collaborated or have been influenced by one another. The exhibition unpacks the intersections in their lives, ideas and practices.  

Installation View – Pop Masters – Art for the Mugrabi Collection, New York at HOTA Gallery, Gold Coast

At the centre of this are three key figures who shaped the direction of contemporary art: Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring: a particular New York triumvirate of late 20th Century American painting. The exhibition begins with a suite of works spanning Warhol’s career that demonstrate the power of an artist who picked up pieces of the world, transforming the people and objects of popular culture, reshaping the everyday into illuminating art. The result is work that is simultaneously familiar and otherworldly, almost haunting. Looking at them from the position of today they are elegiac, honest and generous works, tender in their replication of the world. They create the perfect jumping off point that leads audiences on to the works of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.  

Installation View – Pop Masters – Art for the Mugrabi Collection, New York at HOTA Gallery, Gold Coast

Installation View – Pop Masters – Art for the Mugrabi Collection, New York at HOTA Gallery, Gold Coast

From the subway to the streets, Keith Haring’s work is visual shorthand for a whole era of New York life. Just his name conjures the image of the bustling metropolis of the 1980s. In that era of ‘greed is good’ and economic boom, Haring is a symbol of a city in transformation trying to hold on to something of its character. His works in this exhibition evoke streets that are full of energy and vitality, as well as driven by the struggle and the hustle of a broad cast of artists and activists in opposition to the Reaganite politics of the time. Likewise, Basquiat, combining an instinctive appreciation of art history and social commentary with popular culture, personifies the character and essence of New York in the 1970s and 80s when a heady mixture of decadence and youthful energy produced a hot bed of creativity. 

Orbiting around these three giants figures, Pop Masters features a dizzying array of contemporaries and contemporary artists who demonstrate the impact and influence of their legacy — Katherine Bernhardt, Kwesi Botchway, George Condo, Damien Hirst, KAWS, Jeff Koons, Joel Mesler, Richard Prince, Tom Sachs, Julian Schnabel, Mickalene Thomas and Tom Wesselmann. In the spirit of Pop Art, this exhibition is adventurous and shamelessly bold. With culture-defining names and iconic artworks, Pop Masters invites audiences to explore the creative crossroads between art and life and ask: what, actually, is Pop? From pill filled medicine cabinets to giant peanut butter cups, from Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone to the modern day insta-famous, from ‘Great American Nudes’ to iconic dancing dogs, the exhibition is an adventure through a larger-than-life Pop world. 

Installation View – Pop Masters – Art for the Mugrabi Collection, New York at HOTA Gallery, Gold Coast

Accompanying the exhibition is a suite of events and programmes designed to enrich the experience of our visitors. This includes two unique Up-Late nights where the exhibition will be accompanied by music, performances, workshops and culinary experiences inspired by New York City nights. Audiences can also select from a range of tours, from deep dives into a specific artist with the exhibition curatorial team, to local artists placing a Gold Coast lens on these international voices. Or join our head cocktail designer from the gallery’s roof-top Exhibitionist Bar to learn about the menu he has designed to accompany the exhibition. Guests can finish their visit with dinner at award winning restaurant Palette for The Manhattan Menu, a five-course dinner inspired by New York and the legends of Pop Art. Or take in a movie as part of a curated programme of films that feature artist documentaries alongside films from Martin Scorsese, Gus Vant Sant and Spike Lee.  

A key vision in the design and creative programme for HOTA Gallery is the presentation of international exhibitions. And what better way to launch this ambitious programme than with an exhibition that reflects who we are as a post-modern city: unashamedly glitzy, glamorous and drenched in pop culture. As a global exclusive, Pop Masters fulfils a commitment to bring unique exhibitions to the city as well as to develop projects with an independent point of view. The first of many international projects to come, it marks the arrival of a new voice in Australian exhibitions.