In the 50s Andy Warhol first up-ended New York and then the whole world as the pioneer of Pop Art. 70 years later, his works continue to raise some urgent issues, being interpreted, minding a new context. Lately we saw how MoMA packed his famous cans of soup for display in Paris and now we can see how they're unpacked at Whitney Museum with one of the largest exhibitions of Warhol’s works in New York “From A to B and back”.
“This exhibition — the first Warhol retrospective organized by a U.S. institution since 1989 — reconsiders the work of one of the most inventive, influential, and important American artists. Building on a wealth of new materials, research and scholarship that has emerged since the artist’s untimely death in 1987, this exhibition reveals new complexities about the Warhol we think we know, and introduces a Warhol for the 21st century,” says the Whitney Museum website.
The exhibition itself is divided into several parts, and it collects all kinds of works, thanks to which we can plunge into the world of Andy more densely and completely than ever. On view are his early portraits and sketches, post-war paintings, loaded with images of comics and symbols of the initial Pop Art, magazine covers (including Interview magazine), collaborations with Jean-Michel Basquiat, and also his films — after all, as we know, Warhol’s style was informed by wide range of film genres and styles — including underground cinema, Hollywood documentary, pornography, avant-garde performance and theater, portraiture, and minimalism.One of the most interesting parts of exhibition is Warhol’s Time Capsule, project origined back to 1974. He and his employees had randomly placed the entire contents of the studio — including some artworks — in cardboard boxes creating his own idiosyncratically organized personal archive. He continued to compile Time Capsules for the remainder of his career, hoping to one day exhibit, and perhaps even sell, the sealed boxes as conceptual sculptures.
One of the most interesting parts of exhibition is Warhol’s Time Capsule, this project’s origins date back to 1974. He and his employees had randomly placed the entire contents of the studio—including some artworks—in cardboard boxes creating his own idiosyncratically organized personal archive. He continued to compile Time Capsules for the remainder of his career, hoping to one day exhibit, and perhaps even sell, the sealed boxes as conceptual sculptures.
Finally, this day (November 12, 2018) has come, the city can plunge into maestro’s Time Capsule, which will be on display until March 31, 2019.
By Irina Chistikina
@iraira