The new Andy Warhol exhibit—the first to be organized by a US institution in 30 years—was recently unveiled to the public at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a pivotal and leading figure in the 1960’s art scene. Starting his career as a commercial artist, Warhol received notoriety for his whimsical and garish style that emphasized the vapidity of material culture in America. As he began to establish his rightful place in the visual arts scene, Warhol soon became the pioneer of Pop Art: through a variety of mediums such as silk screen printing, painting, printmaking, and photography, Warhol cemented himself at the forefront of a new, emerging, and controversial art movement.

Triple Elvis, 1963 — Image Via — *Triple Elvis*, 1963 — Image Via

From the birth of the pop art movement came his most notable works: paintings depicting commercial goods such as Campbell’s soup cans and celebrity portraits of the likes of Marilyn Monroe. Timeless in their essence, these pieces are crucial to analyzing the aesthetics of art and culture (and its insipidity) even today. However, this exhibit offers much more to see.

Shot Orange Marilyn, 1964 — Image Via — *Shot Orange Marilyn,* 1964 — Image Via

Displaying more than 400 pieces of Warhol’s, the exhibition merges the more rare pieces of his later work with the iconic and easily recognizable. Museum-goers can observe his work in an all-expansive timeline, notably from his work as a commercial illustrator, to his fascination with the celebrity, to his experimental collaborations with then-emerging artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat.

“…his true genius lies in his ability to identify cultural patterns and to use repetition, distortion, and recycled images in a way that challenges our faith in images and questions the meaning of our cultural icons.”
Art Institute of Chicago on Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again, Via

Paramount, 1984-85 — Image Via — *Paramount*, 1984-85 — Image Via

Basquiat, 1982 — Image Via — *Basquiat*, 1982 — Image Via

The Art Institute of Chicago’s newest exhibit, Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again, takes its roots from last year’s exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. After receiving major popularity, the exhibit is on the move, landing in Chicago from Oct. 20, 2019 – Jan. 26, 2020.

Buy tickets to the limited-time exhibit on the Art Institute of Chicago website here.

Featured Image Via

Chicago is home to some of the most famous museums in the country. The Museum of Science and Industry, the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, and the Art institute of Chicago were all built and opened in honor of the historic World Fairs held here in the city. Each of them were built in a uniform style to make them cohesive with the grounds of the fair. The groundbreaking Museum of Contemprary Art was a newcomer onto this formidable landscape of museums, built with the support of the city.

Since the MCA’s founding by a group of artists, critics, dealers, and collectors in 1967 the museum has taken an innovative interdisciplinary approach to art that led them to showcase then up-and-coming artist Jeff Koons as well as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Frida Kahlo among many others. On June 10th they will be opening an exhibit that exemplifies their dedication to showcasing unconventional, trendsetting artists no matter what medium they work in. “Figures of Speech” will be the first museum exhibition devoted to the work of Virgil Abloh, founder of Off-White and current Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton.

The exhibit will be an immersive experience that explores multiple aspects of Virgils designs and career. The cross-disciplinary offerings will interact with architecture, music, fashion, and design to give the viewer an in-depth look at the designer. For those of you staying in Chicago, the museum will host a talk between Virgil and the exhibition curator Michael Darling on August 24th where they will discuss the process of developing the exhibition and their shared artistic interests.

Some of Virgil’s iconic works will be featured. Image via

It’s heartening to see fashion being taken seriously and put in conversation with other artistic disciplines. I hope that we can see more exhibitions like this in the future that let people look at fashion as an expression of artistic identity.

Admission to the exhibit comes free with admission. You can pre-order tickets here

Feature image via.