Martin Irvine's Favorite Artwork

DC area gallerist Martin Irvine quickly established Irvine Contemporary as one of the leading Mid Atlantic art galleries and has led the way in bringing the super hot Chinese art to the DC region. He responds to my call for readers' favorite artworks and writes:

I was just in the NGA-East and was impressed by the nice little suite of works they have up from 1962, the turning point year in pop. I love Andy Warhol’s “200 Campbells Soup Cans” (1962): it’s entirely hand painted with some cut stencil work, and made before the now iconic soup cans from silk screens. Andy started silkscreening in 1963 after learning it from Gerard Malanga. The 200 hand painted soup can painting on canvas seems even more subversive because he made a painting that looks commercially made, a repetitive series of logos and product graphic design ubiquitous in every supermarket, but rendered back into a painting made by hand. The outrageousness of that — in 1962!

200 Campbell’s Soup Cans, (detail) 1962 (Acrylic on canvas, 72 inches x 100 inches), by Andy Warhol

Art Job

The Mint Museums, comprising the Mint Museum of Art and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, NC, is looking to hire a Director to oversee responsibilities for the development, care and presentation of one of the finest collections of contemporary craft and design within the United States.

The collection's history begins an exciting new chapter as The Mint Museum breaks ground for a 145,000 square foot building that will be the centerpiece of a thriving cultural district in the city of Charlotte. The anticipated opening of the new facility is fall 2010. The museum will provide over 18,000 square feet dedicated to the Craft and Design Collection and special exhibitions

The successful candidate should have a minimum of five years professional curatorial/management experience within a museum environment. Salary and benefits shall be commensurate with experience. Submit application letter and resume to: Caroline Schuster caroline.schuster@wachovia.com (Job Code Reference: MM0107).

Fun with art