Charting Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again
By JACQUELINE LEWIS
Andy Warhol – the influential artist who turned cultural icons into high art – will be exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in the first major Warhol exhibition to be organized by a US institution in 30 years.
Warhol was a famously prolific artist, whose unmistakeable work has managed to be continually popular throughout the modern age. At a time when we are all laboring to manage and understand our consumerist, technology-jammed lives, the chance to view so much of Warhol’s art in this career sweeping exhibition may present some answers to our questions about a pop culture that continues to evolve, as well as the role of media in our society then, as well as now.
Andy Warhol – From A to B and Back Again opens at The Art Institute of Chicago on October 20 and runs through January 26, 2020. This retrospective follows the entire scope of one of the world’s most recognized and renowned artists, featuring over 350 works, from his earliest images through the very end of his career, presented with an arsenal of research and scholarship attesting to the breadth and interconnectedness of a visionary’s lifelong creative pursuits.
Warhol had the genius concept to present and distort cultural icons in a way that continues to challenge viewers into the 21st century. His work seems to have anticipated the issues of our current digital age, making his work as relevant and intriguing as ever.
Instead of focusing solely on his most famous Pop artworks, this exhibition allows visitors to experience these classic works within the broader spectrum of a massive career. Displaying all aspects of Warhol’s career – from paintings and drawings to prints, videos and countless other media – gives visitors the privilege of seeing a more fully realized image of Warhol through an iconic exhibition that no one in Chicago this fall should miss.
The Art Institute of Chicago • October 20, 2019 – January 26, 2020 • artic.edu
Editor's notes:
1. Stefan Edlis, the donor of many of the Art Institute's key Warhol works that are featured in this exhibition, passed away on October 15, 2019 at the age of 94.
2. River North gallery Hilton | Asmus currently has an exhibition on view of works by artist David Gamble, who tells a story through photographs of how Warhol really was, what he loved and how he lived. Andy Warhol’s House runs thru November 12.