Checked out the Andy Warhol exhibit this weekend at Collectors Contemporary, a gallery that’s strategically located near … Ikea. (Hey, you never know when you might need a hot dog, sofa and some Warhol in your life.) Couple pleasant surprises about this show: 1. It’s free. 2. They serve you free champagne…and will continue to do so until the champagne runs out (it’s leftover from their Warhol opening party on 28 March). 3. There are 120 Warhols on display, covering 20 years of his work, everything from a silk-screened Mao series to psychadelic-coloured James Dean canvases. There’s so much to show, some unsigned Marilyn Monroes didn’t even make it to the walls. No joke.

I wouldn’t even consider myself a Warhol fan, let alone a junkie, but I am a curious American who wanted to see my countryman’s iconic work up close. The show does not disappoint, no matter where you’re from. Note of disclosure, though: These are all for sale (ahh, the champagne make a little more sense now). It’s the personal collection of two men, Singaporeans Alvin and Gary, who are selling the pieces off individually or as a series. Not for the weak walleted – one less-prominent Hans Christian Andersen series of four silk-screenings is priced around US$70,000. Eek.

Even if you’re not a collector, go just to have a chat with Gary and Alvin, two of the funniest, most down-to-earth art collectors you’re likely to meet in Singapore. Gary went to art school in San Francisco and knew people in Warhol’s crowd. One such person (a ‘factory kid’) ended up posing for Warhol for the film poster for Querelle — both the print and the photo that served as the inspiration are at Collectors.

And then, of course, there are the 20 Campbell soups — from 1968 and 1969 — it’s the first thing you see when you walk in. But if you ask me, the real stars of the show are the John F Kennedy exhibit (with newsprint from his assassination serving as a silkscreen backdrop), and Alvin and Gary. ‘100 Warhols (Plus Twenty Servings of Soup on the Side)’ runs through 5 June. Collectors Contemporary is open Tue-Sun, 11am-7pm. Laura Dannen

Tags: 100 Warhols, Andy Warhol, Collectors Contemporary, Twenty servings of soup

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