The pop art superstar Andy Warhol is still living his fifteen minutes of fame. More than thirty years have passed since his death and there isn't a single artist who could replace him on the pop art throne. For all Andy Warhol admirers, there is some good news. Those who thought they knew and saw everything there is in Warhol’s oeuvre will be delighted to hear that next year more than 100 works Warhol created during his last days will be displayed publically for the first time. In spring 2016, Ashmolean Museum in Oxford will host a comprehensive exhibition of Warhol’s works including loans from the private Hall Collection and the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
Warhol’s works are among the most influential pioneering pop art creations and even today, he continues to influence the generations of young artists. He was more than an artist and he is certainly the most recognizable cultural icon from the past century. Even though Warhol’s art is recognizable on sight, there are different periods in his work and the spring exhibit at Ashmolean museum will try to encircle Warhol’s production from 1960’s onward aiming to discover the lesser-known side to the artist. Considering the attention Warhol’s creations are gaining now after all these years, the initiative to introduce less familiar works of the artist seems like a great endeavor.
As mentioned previously the exhibit will encompass 100 pieces from the Hall Collection and loan from the Warhol Museum. The aim is to reveal the less familiar side to the artist by displaying the works that are still unknown to the public. The works will include the screenprint portrait of the Joseph Beuys, created based on the Polaroid photographs Andy Warhol took in 1979 which captures the first meeting of these two legends. The retrospective show will also feature Brillo Soap Pads Box, celebrity portraits of the artist Roy Lichtenstein and the singer Paul Anka. Over the course of the exhibition, visitors will be able to see the very last piece Warhol ever made which is a 1987 screenprint Heaven and Hell are Just One Breath Away!. The Halls are the major collectors of Warhol’s works and the collection of his pieces is one of their favorites. No doubt the response from the audience will be enthusiastic as well.
The exhibition at Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford will encompass Warhol’s entire career, from his early pieces made in the 1960’s to those he made during his last days. The exhibition will be on view from February the 4th through May 15th, 2016 and it will be curated by Sir Norman Rosenthal of Hall Art Foundation, former head of exhibitions at the Royal Academy and Dr. Alexander Sturgis, director of the Ashmolean.
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Featured image: Andy Warhol portrait via interestingfacts.org
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