The ethnographer

New York and Beijing styles meet in Melbourne

The National Gallery of Victoria is holding a special exhibition of the works of two prominent and significant contemporary artists from China and The States. Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei are two popular artists whose works have been put together in NGV, Melbourne from 11 Dec, 2015 to 24 April 2016.

Each of the two artists has made huge changes in the history of Pop art both in their countries and around the world.

Andy Warhole began his magnificent life as a painter, filmmaker, photographer, simply a Pop artist, in the 1960s America when all the structures of art as people knew it before were undergoing noticeable changes by underground artists. While there was still a distinct line between high and low, good and bad, art, Warhol began to bring in the most simple and repetitive people's everyday life challenges and moments into art. His brilliant images of top leaders, movie stars, transexuals along with the everyday mass products like the soup and coke cans offer a different perspective of the 1960s American consumer culture and popular culture.

Ai Weiwei is a Beijing based artist who has great experiences in conceptual art, sculpture, architecture, documentary photography, and filmmaking. He is the main designer of the Beijing National Stadium for the Olympic games of Beijing in 2008. Ai Weiwei is a contemporary artist who has been actively criticising the Chinese government. He was jailed in 2011 for three months for his attacking posts and articles in support of democracy and human rights in China.

Here are some of the works shown in the exhibition, enjoy!