As 2024 starts it is great to be working on a new book and planning lots of lovely projects.  I’ve also made a vow to try and take in more art, theatre and film in the year ahead.

I managed to finally get to the big Andy Warhol Exhibition ‘Three Times Out’ in Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery.  It is well worth a visit as it is made up of 250 works by this iconic artist. 72 0f these have been loaned by The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. From this collection Schnitzer has facilitated more than 180 exhibitions in 120 museums across America which bring in kids and seniors and under privileged visitors to see the work.  He gets joy from sharing the works and it is part of his philanthropic activities. The foundation has up to eight or nine exhibitions travelling globally around the world at one time. 

From Warhol’s Campbell’s soup tin screen prints which were inspired by his family eating the soup almost every day as they were poor, to his striking images of Marilyn Monroe and Chairman Mao Zedong and Jackie Kennedy. His work is insightful and he had a huge realisation of the power of colour, print and simple strong imagery and media. Seeing his wallpaper of Mao and his electric chair images you are aware of his incredible instinct as an artist about history and history makers.

The exhibition only runs for another few days so get your skates on as it closes on 27^th January.