Screenprints from Andy Warhol’s Marilyn series are featured in Portrait of America, a Warhol retrospective at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes, Bucks until June 29.
“In celebration of its 25th Anniversary, MK Gallery is delighted to present Andy Warhol: Portrait of America … Almost 25 years since Andy Warhol: Cars was shown in 2001, MK Gallery is set to exhibit the seminal pop artist’s work once again in Milton Keynes. This upcoming exhibition will be a survey of over 130 of Warhol’s most iconic artworks, including the renowned Marilyn series … This exhibition of works from the 1950s – 80s includes early drawings, painted-silkscreens and photographic series featuring Warhol’s collaborations with artists, friends, filmmakers and celebrities. Images of Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, and Warhol himself, feature alongside icons of American consumerism as well as symbols of the artists fascination with mortality: guns, skulls and war.
Warhol’s fascination with celebrity and commercial culture produced some of the most recognisable images in 20th century art. Finding success living and working in 1950s New York as an illustrator for magazines, Warhol developed styles and techniques which propelled him to the centre of America’s cultural scene.”
MK Gallery is also showing a series of Marilyn’s movies in its Sky Room Cinema: including Some Like It Hot (April 25-26); The Seven Year Itch (April 27-29); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (May 2-7); and The Misfits (May 3-6.)
Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, Andy Warhol: Factory Made is open until May 1 at Tagliatella Galleries in Toronto, Canada, with two images of Marilyn displayed beneath this quote from Warhol: ‘The idea is not to live forever, it is to create something that will.’
“In a studio he called ‘The Factory’, Warhol mastered the ability to walk the fine line between artistic creation and manufactured aesthetics with a commercial and business-like attitude toward the works he produced. Between 1963 and his untimely death in 1987, Warhol moved his physical studio space several times, but The Factory continued to pump out a body of work unparalleled both then and since. It is estimated that Warhol created over 10,000 paintings, and his catalog raisonné of prints cites 413 published works in varying sized limited editions, totaling six figures of artwork produced in that 25-year span. In retrospect, this unprecedented style of creation is even more impressive since Warhol’s work was made before digital printing and computer-generation existed. As Warhol curated exhibitions and collaborated with fashion designers throughout the 80s, he also produced countless hours of artistic films and shot hundreds of thousands of photographs.
With Andy Warhol: Factory Made, Taglialatella will feature the most iconic and sought-after of Warhol’s editions from The Factory’s three decades. Guests will have the opportunity to view and purchase some of his most commercially traded and valuable works from this legendary period. For those more interested in the man himself, visitors can also view relics of Warhol’s eccentric style, including his iconic silver wig and a pair of his sunglasses … This extraordinary show offers a rare chance to experience Warhol’s vision up close.”
The Marilyn Report 