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EXHIBITION:The business of using art for advertising goes back to the 19th century. Since 1985, Absolut Vodka has convinced some of the best-known names in modern art to boost their brand. Gemma Tipton previews a show devoted to their ad campaigns

FROM ANDY WARHOL to Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat to Louise Bourgeois, it has inspired some of the world’s most famous artists. It has appeared in more paintings than the most inspirational of models and muses, and manages to merge the causes of art and commerce in a way that is the envy of museums and galleries the world over. So what is it about Absolut Vodka that makes people excited about art? What is it about art that seems to fit so well with Absolut Vodka? And why do artists, usually so wary of having their work co-opted for commercial purposes, embrace the whole idea of painting pictures with vodka bottles in them?