Exhibition: Andy Warhol

Featured Image: Warhol, A. (1967) Self-Portrait. [Acrylic paint and screenprint on canvas] 183.2×183.2. T01288: Tate.

If I’m honest, Andy Warhol has never been a particular interest of mine. I don’t particularly like Pop Art, and it doesn’t really resonate with me in general. However, I’d also never seen a Warhol in person, and could only judge based on printed or recorded media.

However, when the Art Gallery of Ontario: Andy Warhol exhibit opened I decided I needed to go, but also to bring a friend who will challenge me in my thinking. To ensure I engage with the exhibit, and not just passively consume.

To assist in my reflections afterward, I purchased the exhibition catalogue^​*​.

My unformed, disorganized thoughts:

It was interesting seeing how paint was layered onto the works. Seeing underlying acrylic layers, and screen print over-top, lead me to thoughts of layering with mixed media.

In particular, the massive Self Portrait work from the Tate collection opens the show. Standing close, it is easy to see the layers coming together, and seeing how they overlap.

Seeing how the screen printing process degraded the images as the process repeated was interesting to see. Entropy as a topic is interesting to me, and seeing it so vividly as part of the artist’s process definitely caught my attention.

I noticed this in particular in the Jackie Frieze, where up close the structures of Jackie’s features break down.

In the exhibit, there were a number of early life drawings. A few observations here:

• Reactively, I had immediately considered my own figure drawing as more accomplished. But in reflection, I can see how Andy Warhol’s very flat style was already evolving in the form of those images. I can see the choices he was making — which are different choices than I make, during my own figure drawing.
• The figure drawings evolved into blot-prints in a book. I can see how this then obviously creates a line directly into screen printing.

Towards the end of the exhibit, we encountered the massive Oxidation Painting. Images on the internet do not do any justice to its colours and patterns. It was the first piece I saw that really challenged my preconceptions of Andy Warhol’s work. Part of its appeal to me was the sheer monumental size of the work, and the abstract randomness of the piece.

This exhibit did not change my mind on Andy Warhol, nor would it be fair to demand that it would. I still am not a fan, and most of his work does not particularly appeal to me.

That said, it did raise some ideas in my mind around exploring mixed media and layering. I want to explore flatness in future work — I’m far too prone to aiming for volume and dimensionality.