Have ‘we the people’ of the GC waited long enough to bathe in the glory of the most famous pop artists in the history of the world? Do we not deserve our cultural moment ‘in the sun’?
People, our time has come with the launch of POP MASTERS at HOTA GALLERY.
It’s been such a long time coming for not only Director Tracy Cooper-Lavery and her team at HOTA GALLERY, but for the Gold Coast’s ‘glitter strip’ with the world exclusive POP MASTERS show, six years in the making, finally launching at HOTA in February.
I sat down with Tracy to chat on FABULOUS NOBODY VODCAST way back in 2021, about the excitement of this landmark Gold Coast cultural event when it was sadly postponed due to Covid.
But the moment has arrived when we can now actually be in the same room as the legendary ‘men folk’ of POP including WARHOL, HARING, BASQUIAT, SCHNABEL, PRINCE-without even leaving the Gold Coast.
A lovely selection of work, from New York’s Mugrabi Collection, holders of a meagre 800-1000 Warhols, and curated by HOTA’S Bradley Vincent, is currently on display for your pleasure at HOTA including the aforementioned artists together with popular works by THE current art star KAWS plus many more.
Anthea Polsen here from Anthea Polsen Gallery
Highlights for me are the Julian Schnabel portrait of Frida Kahlo done with broken crockery reminiscent of his famed works from the early 1980’s, Warhol’s very lovely portrait of Dolly Parton (love the colour palette), the large scale red and green work by Keith Haring, and Damien Hirst’s mirrored pill cabinet.
Hopefully POP MASTERS heralds the beginning of the Gold Coast capturing some of those all important cultural tourism dollars usually garnered by the blockbuster shows in the capital cities. What could be better than SUN, SURF, THEME PARKS and ART to capture the imagination and round out the ultimate family holiday?
The Launch Party was a fun night packed with ART, COLOUR, and MARTINIS, and a shout out to chef Laurence Griffen (who many Gold Coasters will remember as Chef/Owner of Salty Plum restaurant Broadbeach), who joined the HOTA team to deliver quality gourmet delights and delectable drinkies.
The party atmosphere will continue with a number of after dark events during the duration of the POP MASTERS season worth keeping an eye out for. Check the HOTA website for details.
Not to be missed!
POP MASTERS:
ART FROM THE
MUGRABI COLLECTION,
NEW YORK
18th Feb – 4th Jun
