The Andy Warhol Museum is preparing to open a new exhibition, titled Andy Warhol’s Social Network: ‘Interview’, Television and Portraits, from September 24, 2022, to February 20, 2023, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The exhibition resides at the intersection between the renowned artist’s path-forging work with Interview magazine, his portrait commissions and his entertainment ventures, including Fashion, Warhol TV and Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes. Showing 204 chronological Interview magazine issues from 1969 to 1987, Andy Warhol’s Social Network will spotlight The Warhol’s near-complete holding of the artist’s transformational work for the publication in its entirety for the first time.
“With Interview Warhol created an identity and brand entirely his own by breaking the mold of traditional print media,” said Jessica Beck, chief curator, in a statement. “He used original artworks for the covers by Richard Bernstein, he let his own staff and other celebrities interview each other, he insisted on as little editing as possible, and he unabashedly embraced commercial advertising as part of this lifestyle brand.”
“Not only was this model, prescient, but it forecasted contemporary culture’s continued interest in fantasy, fame, celebrity and wealth,” she added. “Like with all his work, Interview was original, but also tapped into a younger vibration, celebrated youth culture and created a world of reflection by mirroring the trends of fashion, beauty and culture of its time.”
The exhibition brings forth a series of commissioned portraits and episodes from the visionary’s Fashion, Warhol TV and Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes, demonstrating how Warhol interpolated his work with Interview into various mediums. Notably, the artist’s portrait commissions funded his more creative pursuits like Interview and Warhol TV, while simultaneously fueling his own social network with celebrities, social influencers, art patrons, business executives and more.
“Warhol’s social circle was a collision of different worlds,” said Tyler Shine, assistant curator of art. “He skillfully managed to mix the downtown art scene with socialites, celebrities, and the publishing industry. This exhibition not only highlights these connections, but also the strategies Warhol used to make it possible.”
In addition to Warhol’s Interview portfolio, the exhibition will include over 60 original collages by Richard Bernstein, the artist behind some of the most iconic Interview covers through the ’70s and ’80s.
“Interview was more than just a celebrity magazine—it was art, and Richard Bernstein’s distinctive portraits were masterpieces,” said Rory S. Trifon, president of The Estate of Richard Bernstein. “Each intricate and strikingly colorful work of art is an incredible chronicle of the time whose visual language shaped our culture today.”
Andy Warhol’s Social Network: ‘Interview’, Television and Portraits is curated by Jessica Beck, chief curator with Tyler Shine, assistant curator and Isabella Hanley, Fine Foundation fellow.
Elsewhere, Joseph Lee will present a new exhibition, titled Passive. Aggression, at New York’s GR Gallery.
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