The Andy Warhol Foundation and Absolut are celebrating the brand’s first artistic collaboration with Warhol in 1986 that became the catalyst for Absolut’s nearly thirty year engagement with contemporary arts. With the foundation’s full support, Absolut will reimagine the iconic painting that Warhol created of the Absolut bottle for a new, limited-edition Andy Warhol Edition bottle launching on October 1st. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Andy Warhol Edition will contribute generously to the foundation’s endowment from which it has distributed nearly $250M in grants supporting contemporary visual arts. Since the original commission in 1986, Absolut has worked with over 550 artists on over 850 commissions and it’s interesting to note that the three commissioned works following Warhol’s were by Keith Haring, David Levinthal and Kenny Scharf, all at the urging of their close friend Andy.
On October 1st, Absolut will host a special art event in New York to unveil its revival of Warhol’s painting (image attached below) and launch Art Exchange by Absolut, a digital initiative that could become the world’s largest online art exchange. Art Exchange by Absolut invites individuals around the world (over the age of 21) to unleash their creativity by submitting a work of art, or creating one with easy to use digital tools. The site will also accept most image files and formats, including uploads via Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. All participants will receive someone else’s work of art at the end of each month and one lucky participant will receive an original work by Warhol.
The event will also consist of a special performance titled Warhol Spirit by Absolut, a collaboration between acclaimed conceptual artist Leif Elggren, light artist Schnellebuntibilder and DJ A-Trak. The three will work together on a live-collaboration where Schnellebuntibilder’s interactive light installation will react to A-Trak’s music, which responds to Elggren’s EVP (Electro Voice Phenomenon) machine to channel Warhol’s voice in the afterlife. Through this unique art experience, Absolut seeks to inspire audiences to realize that anything is possible through creativity and innovation. You can view a teaser video for the event and performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXQJrCLgQ1s.