“Stars & Guitars” is an exhibition, which combines works from Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Steve Kaufman, Mel Ramos, Kiki Kogelnik and other well-known Pop Art artists with rare guitars from the Infeld Collection.

Pop Art is a new approach to art. Ranging from bizarre to critical, the works created by Pop Art artists favoured the interest in popular culture and imaginative interpretations of commercial products. Pop Art has a unique iconography and picture language: recognizable, simple, expressive.

The sound of guitars, some played on Thomastik-Infeld strings, was iconic for the Pop Art era. In the Infeld collection are rare instruments from this era like Fender Nocaster from the 50s.

The Infeld Collection is one of the biggest private art collections in Austria. The Viennese entrepreneur Peter Infeld (1942-2009) began to collect art in the mid-1960s. The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, naive art from Croatia, Pop Art, Buddhist meditation paintings from Tibet (so-called “Thangkas”) and Outsider Art are the focus of the Infeld Collection.

In order to make the works accessible to a broader public Peter Infeld built representative cultural centres: In the year 2000 in Halbturn, Burgenland, Austria, and 2001 – in the idyllic village of Dobrinj, on the Croatian island of Krk. The beautiful mansion called “The Lady of Dobrinj” on the main square was authentically restored.

Peter Infeld was the owner and CEO of Thomastik-Infeld. The traditional Viennese company is one of the most important string manufacturers worldwide. Thomastik-Infeld produces around 3000 different strings and, undoubtedly, holds an exceptional position in the global music market. The strings have been handmade since 1919. Following the death of Peter Infeld in 2009, his widow, Croatian-born Zdenka Infeld, continues the family’s long business and art collecting tradition.

In total, more than 120 exhibitions were held free of charge at both locations in the past 20 years.