The photographs reveal Warhol’s surprising eye for touching images, such as those of Jean-Michel Basquiat in the company of his mother, enchanting children, as well as key members of the Factory inner circle. A self-portrait of the artist in the arms of Diana Ross proves particularly striking. There are photographs of street people, drag queens, artists and clubbers, accompanied by more intimate photographs such as those of socialite and horticulturalist C. Z. Guest on horseback at her estate on Long Island’s North Shore. An image capturing a throng of paparazzi as they lie in wait reflects Warhol’s particular fascination with celebrity and fame.
The exhibition is accompanied by rarely seen episodes of Warhol’s television shows, created and aired between 1979 and 1987. A daylong compilation of Warhol TV, featuring many of the personalities captured in the photographs, will be on view in the main gallery. The programme includes episodes from Fashion (1979-80), Andy Warhol's T.V. [Manhattan Cable] (1980-82), Andy Warhol's T.V. [MSG Network] (1983), and Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes (1985-87) [MTV]. Many of the interviews prove surprisingly informal, with subjects including Debbie Harry, David Hockney, Harvey Fierstein, Diana Vreeland and Steven Spielberg. Warhol's unobtrusive interview technique, whereby his subjects are allowed to talk at length, can be traced back to his earlier screen tests and experimental films.
Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1928. Throughout the 1950s, Warhol enjoyed a successful career as a commercial artist, winning several commendations from the Art Director's Club and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. The 1960s proved to be a prolific decade, with Warhol in ascendance. Appropriating images from popular culture, he created many paintings that became icons of 20th-century art, such as the Campbell's Soup Cans, Disaster Series and Marilyns. In addition to painting, Warhol produced a number of 16mm films that became underground classics, such as Chelsea Girls and Empire. Warhol died on February 22, 1987, following a routine gall bladder operation.
Warhol’s World will be accompanied by a Steidl publication in conjunction with Hauser & Wirth, with an introductory text by Glenn O’Brien. The exhibition will also tour to Zwirner & Wirth, New York.
