From 17 October to 24 February 2025, Louis Vuitton has opened the exhibition: “Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &…” A space dedicated to highlighting the influence of the pop art movement on artists and creatives around the world.
Pop Art challenged the traditional art hierarchies, snapping that infamous bond between “high art” and “low culture”. It provided a space for these to intertwine. Advertisement imagery, comics and mass-produced consumer goods all allowed this everyday approach to art and expression.
The exhibition has a man in focus upon Tom Wesselmann, one of the main artists of the artistic movement. He passed away in 2004 nevertheless his art lives on and continues to stimulate the minds of like minded artists. The creators chose 135 of his paintings to showcase, spanning from his first collage in 1959 to his still life’s which are extravagant in their large size as well as his landscapes.
He began painting in the late 1950’s and taught himself how to be creative. He learnt how to produce aerial photography interpretation as well as draw cartoons that reflected his time spent in the army – and the Korean War. Later in life, he went to study at Cooper Union which was where he met his wife, Claire Selley, who was known as the artist’s muse. It was one of his early pieces, a drawing of Claire that caught critics’ eye. A format of hybrid collages, scraps of wallpaper and sketches all created to stand as one beautiful piece.
Not only does this exhibition shine a light on Wesselmann, but the curators hand-picked a further 35 artists and their work to be featured. Some large names such as: Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Jann Haworth are in there – to name a few. Warhol’s iconic 1964 screen printing of Marilyn Monroe hangs proudly within the exhibition: Shot Sage Blue Marilyn.
“Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &…” demonstrates that Pop Art was more than an artistic style, it was a cultural movement.
