A total of 122 pieces of the work of noted U.S. pop art painter Andy Warhol from Switzerland, Rome, and Spain were unboxed yesterday in Taipei for the first-ever Warhol exhibition in Taiwan that the organizers said will showcase the fabulous life of this avant-garde artist starting Jan. 1.

Taiwan is the first stop in Asia for the “Pop Art Godfather — Andy Warhol World Exhibition,” which is being organized here by the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Management Office, China Times Media Group, and Art Magazine, with the assistance of Taipei City Government.

The exhibition will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Jan. 1 to March 29 at the first display room of the National Chiang Kai shek Memorial Hall, closing only on Jan. 25 and 26 for Chinese New Year.

At a news conference, Monday, four of Warhol's most well-known series — Marilyn Monroe that he created in 1967, Chairman Mao in 1972, Cow in 1971 and Flower in 1984 — were unwrapped and introduced to Taiwanese art lovers.

Refusing to disclose the total value of the paintings, curator Tsu Fen lan simply said that these paintings are under insurance totaling 30 million Euros, among which, “Joseph Beuys,” a screenprint of noted German artist Joseph Beuys, is the most expensive one, with an insurance amount of up to 470,000 Euros.

China Times Principal Lin Sheng-fen said at the news conference that this exhibition not only can boost Taiwan's soft power of cultural and creative industry,but also can provide a good opportunity for Taiwan's art industry to learn how to turn art into business.

“Warhol's philosophy of 'art is business and business is art' broke the boundaries between the two and made him one of the most successful artists in the 20th century,” said Chen Kuo-tsi, chairwoman of Contemporary Art Foundation.

Describing Warhol as the “godfather” of comic art, Arts Magazine Publisher Ho Chen kuan said Warhol's works are reflections of life, as he used everyday subjects to create art.

Warhol became a successful commercial illustrator during the 1960s by making paintings of iconic American products such as Coca-Cola bottles and Campbell's Soup Cans.

He switched to silk screen prints which he produced serially, seeking not only to make art of mass produced items. but to mass produce the art itself, using the same techniques to reproduce paintings with bright colors in different versions and variations.