Andy Warhol, as you have never seen him before

Andy Warhol, Ohne Titel, 1957

There is no other artist in the second half of the 20ies century that is as popular as Andy Warhol. Some of his pictures (Marilyn, Campbell cans, Mao) became part of the collective memory, and they have been reproduced several million times. Up to this day, they appear on T-Shirts and posters, on cups and blankets.

But his enormous popularity has also led to certain saturation. You just have seen his pictures too often. Nevertheless, Andy Warhol is not all about Pop Art. There is still a lot to discover within his huge oeuvre, his early works for instance which are still widely unknown. A great selection of those early works is now shown in an exhibition at the Villa Schöningen in Potsdam.

Andy Warhol Early Works

Andy Warhol, Hand with Wreath of Birds, 1956

The exhibition shows Andy Warhol as you have never seen him before. If you would not know that these pictures were done by him, you would never guess it. That is because the main focus of the exhibition is Andy Warhol’s works prior to 1962. This year was the crucial turning point in Warhol’s artistic career, as he discovered silk-screen printing back then. This method changed his style forever and was used for almost all of his famous works.

In the exhibitionat Villa Schöningen we get to see a great variety of his early works: strange and unconventional portraits of James Dean, Merce Cunningham and others; a absurd cooking book, pictures of asparagus and matches, a series of shoes, and delicate, elegant Art Nouveau pictures that feature a lot of gold and that makes one think of icons from East Europe (Warhol’s family came from Slovakia).

Andy Warhol Early Works

Andy Warhol, Ohne Titel, 1955

Some of these works remind one of advertising illustrations from the 1950ies, which is reasonable, as this was where Andy Warhol’s worked before he managed to live from his art. Artistically, you can see all kinds of influences: there is Art Nouveau and Henri Matisse, there is Dadism and Surrealism. This exhibition also tells the story of an artist looking for his identity.

As mentioned before, most of these pictures have got nothing to do with what Andy Warhol is known for. However, if you take a closer look you get to see some elements that you are already familiar with and that in fact are the most important characteristics of Andy Warhol’s art: the principle of series and the emphasis on surfaces.

Finally, the exhibition ends with some of Andy Warhol’s world famous Pop Art prints. But strangely you do not really take notice of them. They somehow appear almost boring in comparison to his fascinating early works.

Villa Schöningen

Villa Schöningen

Andy Warhol – Early Works

runs until July 24, 2011

Villa Schöningen

Berliner Straße 86

14467 Potsdam.

Admission: 8€, 6€ reduced

Opening Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11am – 6pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am – 6pm.

Public Transport: S-Bahn station Wannsee, then Bus 316 to Glienicker Brücke.

www.villa-schoeningen.de

all artwork: Stiftung Sammlung Marx, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, © 2011 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. /Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

[wpmaps company=”Villa Schöningen” street=”Berliner Str. 86″ city=”144467 Potsdam”]

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