The Art Institute's Homage to Andy Warhol
The new Andy Warhol exhibit—the first to be organized by a US institution in 30 years—was recently unveiled to the public at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a pivotal and leading figure in the 1960’s art scene. Starting his career as a commercial artist, Warhol received notoriety for his whimsical and garish style that emphasized the vapidity of material culture in America. As he began to establish his rightful place in the visual arts scene, Warhol soon became the pioneer of Pop Art: through a variety of mediums such as silk screen printing, painting, printmaking, and photography, Warhol cemented himself at the forefront of a new, emerging, and controversial art movement.
Triple Elvis, 1963 — Image Via
From the birth of the pop art movement came his most notable works: paintings depicting commercial goods such as Campbell’s soup cans and celebrity portraits of the likes of Marilyn Monroe. Timeless in their essence, these pieces are crucial to analyzing the aesthetics of art and culture (and its insipidity) even today. However, this exhibit offers much more to see.
Shot Orange Marilyn, 1964 — Image Via
Displaying more than 400 pieces of Warhol’s, the exhibition merges the more rare pieces of his later work with the iconic and easily recognizable. Museum-goers can observe his work in an all-expansive timeline, notably from his work as a commercial illustrator, to his fascination with the celebrity, to his experimental collaborations with then-emerging artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“…his true genius lies in his ability to identify cultural patterns and to use repetition, distortion, and recycled images in a way that challenges our faith in images and questions the meaning of our cultural icons.”
Art Institute of Chicago on Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again, Via
The Art Institute of Chicago’s newest exhibit, Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again, takes its roots from last year’s exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. After receiving major popularity, the exhibit is on the move, landing in Chicago from Oct. 20, 2019 – Jan. 26, 2020.
Buy tickets to the limited-time exhibit on the Art Institute of Chicago website here.
Featured Image Via
