Avedon and Warhol on display in London

An exhibition dedicated to Richard Avedon and Andy Warhol opened on 9 February at the Gagosian Gallery in London, where it will stay until 23 April. In their images portraying, among others, Marella Agnelli, Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Bianca Jagger and Rudolf Nureyev, these two pioneers of Pop Art combined the power of beauty with the social, political and cultural issues of the time. Avedon’s works celebrated by the Gagosian are primarily his photographic masterpieces in black and white, with their always bold and avant-garde subjects, while silkscreen prints fully express the artistic eclecticism of the Warhol works on display. Themes include Celebrity, represented by iconic portraits of such muses and stars as Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn and Elvis Presley. But there is also the darker side of humanity and its potential salvation, which led to memorable works and photographs characterized by hugely expressive subjects.(Photo: Left: Louis Armstrong ©The Richard Avedon Foundation Right: Liza Minnelli ©2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York)