P AT RI CK P AI NT E R , I N C
PRESS RELEASE
Andy Warhol
Time Capsule: Works on paper
from the 60’s and the 80’s
June 13, 2009 – August 15, 2009
Patrick Painter Inc is pleased to present
an exhibition of one of the must
influential and iconic artists of the 20th
century, Andy Warhol, at its Melrose
gallery. The exhibition features a series of intimate family portraits and other works on
paper from both the beginning and the end of Warhol’s career as a fine artist.
Warhol was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He majored in pictorial design at
the Carnegie Institute of Technology. After graduating, Warhol worked as an illustrator in
New York City, where his work was published in such publications as Vogue, Harper’s
Bazaar, Glamour, and The New Yorker. Warhol maintained a successful career as a
commercial artist through the 1950s. In 1952 Warhol had his first solo exhibition as a
fine artist at the Hugo Gallery, followed by his first group exhibition at the Museum of
Modern Art in 1956. Today, Warhol’s work is included in such prominent collections as
the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Museum of Modern Art in New
York, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Renowned for his screenprints and paintings from the 1960s, Warhol remains one of the
forerunners of American art. A leader of the American Pop Art movement during the
1960s, Warhol is best known for his iconic works such as Campbell's Soup Cans, Brillo
Box, and portraits of celebrities such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.
This exhibition features two beautifully executed drawing series: one featuring intimate
portraits of Warhol's family from the 1950s and 1960s and the other featuring the
Cabbage Patch Kids from the 1980s.
The family portrait series offers a unique glimpse into Warhol's family life. In these four
works on paper, Warhol’s figures are portrayed through a combination of bold outlines
and soft pencil marks. The undulating lines interact with the quick, graphic strokes. They
are powerfully dynamic, with a wonderful juxtaposition of fine and grainy textures with
darker, heavier marks. Warhol plays with the graphite and the surface through these
opposing textures, resulting in a highly charged body of work. The cross-hatching of the
marks, executed in a painterly style, is a rarity in Warhol’s work, as it is a glimpse at his
own artistic hand.
The Cabbage Patch Kids series, although completed in the mid 1980s, explores the
same themes of popular culture present in his works from the 1960s. Executed in soft
lines with minimal markings, this series of six works on paper result in stark portrayals of
the popular childhood toy.
The opening reception will be held on June 13, 2009 from 4pm to 7pm.
For further information, please contact the gallery.