Holly Solomon – art collector, socialite, gallery owner, and even muse to the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein – is currently being celebrated at NYC’s Mixed Greens in the group exhibition, Hooray for Hollywood!. The exhibit showcases the artistic sensibility of the self-proclaimed “Pop Princess,” and quietly illustrates the ways in which she influenced the world of art during the last four decades of her life.
“When the history of galleries in postwar New York is written, there will most likely be a chapter devoted to Holly Solomon,” declares Roberta Smith for the New York Times. Solomon, she says, was “a vivid art-world presence for nearly 40 years,” of the famed art collector’s exuberant devotion to curating, sharing, and immersing herself in art. Solomon was a huge presence in the anti-modernist and pop art communities, and was a huge proponent of emerging talent.
In 1975, the feisty art aficionado opened the Holly Solomon Gallery in SoHo with the help of her husband Horace. Some might say that this event was the culmination of Solomon’s years growing more and more into the role of savvy art patron and dealer. The soon gallery became instrumental in launching major artistic careers over the next few decades; Solomon was about to magnify emerging artists with the help of her gallery, and reputation.
Hooray for Hollywood! is co-curated by Heather Bhandari of Mixed Greens, Steven Sergiovanni, and Pavel Zoubok, a dear friend of Solomon’s whose collage and mixed-media work was profoundly influenced by the legendary art dealer. “‘Hooray for Hollywood!’ Features important works representing the [Holly Solomon] gallery’s 30-year history and pays homage to a program that launched major careers and influenced subsequent generations of artists,” details a press release for the exhibition. The press release continues, “What emerges is a portrait of a complex and courageous woman who left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape.”
“No matter where she went, she could see the art woven into the environment,” explains Zoubok, of Solomon’s ceaseless love and eye for art. Hooray for Hollywood! honors this love, commemorating the influence that Holly Solomon had on the art world during her life.
Hooray for Hollywood!
January 9th – February 8th, 2014
Pavel Zoubok Gallery & Mixed Greens
New York, NY
Image: Andy Warhol, Untitled (Holly Solomon), 1963–1964