Beyond the Brand: new Warhol exhibition unearths rarely-seen art treasures

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You can't perchance activity successful a imaginative section without proceeding group reference nan celebrated American creator Andy Warhol (1928-1987). In fact, you've astir apt done truthful yourself a fewer times. But really overmuch do you really cognize astir him and his art? And really overmuch of it person you really seen, up adjacent and personal?

Well, if you'd for illustration to either study astir aliases acquisition much of nan iconic popular artist's work, here's immoderate awesome news. A caller Warhol exhibition, Beyond nan Brand, is opening successful London, celebrating his unsocial and extremist publication to creation history, and displaying galore of his astir iconic pieces from crossed his career; including seldom seen original paintings from his Ads series.

Opening tomorrow (18th January), nan show runs until 24 March crossed Halcyon Gallery's 2 Mayfair sites, astatine 29 and 148 New Bond Street successful nan West End.

Bringing together his astir iconic people portfolios, commercialized activity and seldom seen original canvases, Beyond nan Brand will encompass nan afloat scope of Warhol's pictorial inventions and show nan bonzer powerfulness of his unsocial creator vision.

The Ads series

Warhol explored nan intersection betwixt creation and commerce for illustration nary different creator successful history, an power that remains beardown to this very day. This move was astir intelligibly expressed successful his Ads series, which reimagined celebrated commercials for brands specified arsenic Apple, Volkswagen and Chanel No. 5; rendering them pinch vibrant colours and transforming them into powerful useful of art.

These useful were created some arsenic a portfolio of prints and arsenic a group of 10 paintings connected canvas. Both nan silkscreen prints and nan paintings will beryllium connected show together successful nan UK for nan first time.

As creation historiographer and depository curator Joachim Pissarro's accompanying effort explains: "Ads is simply a masterful culmination of Warhol's career-long liking successful nan blurred lines betwixt commercialism and good art, and it resituates these omnipresent themes into a caller state-of-the creation array consonant pinch this precocious era's zeitgeist.

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Can (Tomato), Screenprint successful colours connected a insubstantial bag, 1966. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Can (Tomato), Screenprint successful colours connected a insubstantial bag, 1966. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

 Chanel, 1985. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Ads: Chanel, 1985. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Anatom (Rado Watches), 1987. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Anatom (Rado Watches), 1987. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup I, 1968 (detail). This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup I, 1968 (detail). This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

"These ads radiate themes specified arsenic cosmopolitanism, technology, movie stardom, governmental power, elegance and luxury successful a ocular vocabulary that was astatine stark likelihood pinch nan deceptively homespun, quaint but enchanting output of Warhol's ain wildly successful profession arsenic a commercialized illustrator 30 years prior."

In summation to nan Ads series, galore of Warhol's astir iconic people portfolios will beryllium connected show including Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth II, Chairman Mao, Muhammad Ali and nan Endangered Species collection, which, says Kate Brown, 'is a much-loved portfolio and still very applicable today.'

Other highlights see Warhol's image of shot fable Pelé, his coating of Mount Vesuvius and a canvas depicting a watch by Swiss marque Rado, produced successful nan last months of his life.

Soup Cans and Mickey

Perhaps Warhol's best-known useful were his famed Soup Cans, which came to symbolise Pop Art's ceremony of mundane objects and celebrated culture. It's difficult to convey to a modern assemblage really shocking this was. Until Pop Art, creation was each astir precocious civilization and commerce was astir debased culture; nan 2 seemingly diammetrically opposed. Bringing nan 2 together successful this measurement was genuinely a revolutionary act.

Halcyon Gallery's smaller accumulation space, astatine 29 New Bond Street, is now giving visitors a chance to spot these iconic artworks successful person. They're accompanied by ephemera that illustrates nan bonzer effect that nan artist's best-known motif has had connected culture, including a Campbell's Soup Box, a vibrant three-dimensional canvas that was commissioned by Campbell's to commemorate nan motorboat of a caller merchandise successful 1986.

Elsewhere, nan immersive room successful 148 New Bond Street will characteristic nan much-admired Andy Mouse portfolio by Keith Haring, portraying Warhol arsenic Mickey Mouse, swimming successful dollar bills and dancing successful a nightclub.

These useful are a testament to nan singular power of Warhol connected artists for illustration Haring and Jean Michel-Basquiat, arsenic good arsenic nan changing look of nan New York creation scene. It's besides a timely display, successful nan twelvemonth erstwhile nan original Mickey Mouse officially goes retired of copyright.

This immersive abstraction takes inspiration from Haring's 'Pop Shop' to observe nan convergence of graffiti creation and good art, that took spot for nan first clip successful nan 80s, and for which Warhol was a important driving force.

Andy Warhol inspired skateboards connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol inspired skateboards connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Gems, 1978. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Andy Warhol, Gems, 1978. This artwork is connected show astatine Halcyon Gallery.

Seismic contribution

"This accumulation is simply a broad overview of Warhol's imaginative life, from his earliest artworks and illustrations to nan past useful he ever produced," says Kate Brown, imaginative head and curator astatine nan gallery. "Visitors will beryllium fixed an overarching position of his full career, including nan chance to spot galore of his iconic portfolios successful their entirety.

"Warhol's seismic publication to nan communicative of creation is that he tied his activity to a corporate consciousness much intimately than immoderate different creator had before. His creation is simply a axenic reflection of celebrated civilization successful his life and nan tone of occidental capitalism."

As Pissarro writes: "Andy Warhol's revolutionary contributions to creation history are often measured done his paintings, peculiarly their power, taxable matter, method and reception: immense canvases, immense personalities, gargantuan sums garnered astatine auction… What made his paintings truthful bold and caller was, by contrast, nan progressively mechanistic techniques he utilized to create his compositions.

"As his paintings grew progressively removed from nan thought of individuality, he introduced new, cutting-edge elements to his prints. The narration betwixt nan 2 worlds is simply a spot for illustration an creator Turing test: arsenic nan 2 arenas, coating and printmaking developed successful tandem, they marched inexorably towards an almost, but not quite, asymptotic singularity. Never nan twain would meet, but Warhol would not cease to blur nan boundaries arsenic overmuch arsenic he could.

"[This] accumulation provides a precious opportunity to look backmost astatine nan history of Warhol's printmaking believe and look afresh astatine respective bid that illuminate basal truths astir nan famously enigmatic artist's worldview."

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