MELBOURNE.- Andy Warhol’s Jewish Geniuses set foot in Australia for the very first time. Warhol’s famous portrait series of ten iconic 20th century Jewish figures are being exhibited in all their screen printed brilliance in the Loti Smorgon Gallery at the Jewish Museum of Australia.

The series includes a dynamic mix of 20th century thinkers, scientists and artists including Sarah Bernhardt (actress), Louis Brandeis (judge), Martin Buber (philosopher), Albert Einstein (physicist), Sigmund Freud (neurologist and founding father of psychoanalysis), George Gershwin (composer), Franz Kafka (writer), Golda Meir (4th Prime Minister of Israel), Gertrude Stein (writer) and The Marx Brothers (actors).

The exhibition explores Warhol’s creation of the ‘celebrity’ image and his selection process behind his Jewish geniuses. It questions how Warhol depicted the public face of famous personalities, and how we receive the images of these famous Jewish figures today.

Visitors have intimate access to a range of original Warhol works, experiencing firsthand how this controversial artist chose to reflect his ideology and theories through his art. The exhibition reveals details about the selection process behind choosing the final ten geniuses plus learn more about the subjects themselves.

Just like the original show, the Jewish Museum of Australia’s exhibition includes original Warhol works borrowed from a range of international lenders, based as far apart as New York, Israel and Vienna. With thanks to the NGV and other private lenders, the Jewish Museum of Australia is now also able to include some rarely before seen artworks by Warhol, adding a uniquely Australian flavour to the show. This includes a beautiful portrait of Loti Smorgon produced by Andy Warhol in 1981 kindly loaned to the Jewish Museum of Australia by the NGV and the Smorgon family.

Whilst the show focuses on the original series of ten works, the Jewish Museum of Australia has worked hard to add a new section exploring Warhol’s work in more detail. Working with a range of different contractors and providers, the Museum has added multi-media, graphics and other props to create further engaging and informative elements to the exhibition. Also on display is an interview between the Director of the Jewish Museum Vienna and Ron Feldman, providing us with a fascinating insight into what it was really like to work with Warhol!

Visitors are invited to experience and explore Warhol; the man and his work, in great depth.

An exhibition of the Jewish Museum Vienna in cooperation with the Jewish Museum of Australia.