More than 80 works of art were brought to Astana by employees of the Lumiere-Hall multimedia museum in Almaty. The works, collected from private collections and galleries in Europe and the USA, cover the work of 20 artists and illustrate the phenomenon of pop art. The exposition is divided into three key blocks that reveal the development and evolution of this artistic direction.

“Of course, many people are familiar with pop art thanks to Andy Warhol. We can't blame anyone for this. That year, Andy Warhol became the best-selling artist, even surpassing Van Gogh. In terms of the value of works at auctions, he became the most popular. Everyone knows Andy Warhol, and we would like other names to become widely known. Visitors to the exhibition come up and say that they have seen many images, but did not know the authors. We have collected pop art classics and combined them with modern masters,” said Polina Egarmin, co-founder of the Lumiere-Hall Museum.

The first section of the exposition opens to viewers the works of the “golden age” of pop art — artists who laid the foundations of this direction. Here you can see the works of such icons as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. These masters used images of mass culture — from comics to advertising and celebrities — and turned them into symbols of artistic expression.

“We are so glad that we were able to bring this exhibition. We stood in line for about a year. And for four months they brought it to Kazakhstan to show in two cities. This is our second collaboration with the Has Sanat gallery after the Dali exhibition. We do not have a Lumiere-Hall museum in Astana. The very term pop art tells us what it is. Pop art is popular art. All these artists wanted to turn art from elitist into something very accessible,” said Polina Egarmin.

The second part of the exhibition contains works by contemporary artists whose works rethink the ideas of pop art. Works by artists such as Prefab 77, Banksy and Richard Ryan are included. Their work demonstrates how pop art continues to be a source of inspiration, echoing street art, digital technologies and new forms of self-expression.

“Probably the most striking representative of contemporary authors is Banksy. His posters and stencil printing are interesting. Although everyone knows him for graffiti. We are launching a series of lectures on representatives of pop art here in Astana. We will tell you interesting facts from their lives. For example, how Andy Warhol was very attached to his mother and was sweetly proud that he was a “mama's boy,” added Polina Egarmin.

The third block of the exhibition presents a unique interpretation of pop art by Kazakh artist Mimi Ilnitskaya. In her works, she refers to national symbols, organically combining them with the aesthetics of pop art.

“Mimi is our friend, a frequent guest of the museum. Her works were not at the Almaty exhibition. This is the highlight that was added to the exposition. Mimi was with us at the opening of this exhibition in Almaty and we asked her to get inspired and present her interpretation of pop art. We wanted visitors to experience the same emotions when looking at Mimi's painting as the people who were at Andy Warhol's first exhibitions. Already now people come up to me and ask if a milk brand will contact you. Andy Warhol was asked the same questions about Campbell's soup cans,” said Polina Egarmin.

The exhibition gives viewers the opportunity to get acquainted with the key stages in the development of pop art — from its origins to modern interpretations. The exposition not only demonstrates the richness of this direction, but also invites you to think about the influence of mass culture on our everyday lives.