Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (1928–1987, VS) is een van de beroemdste kunstenaars van de 20e eeuw. Voor hem is roem zelf een kunstvorm. Warhol, die begint als commercieel illustrator, verovert de kunstwereld met bewust banale beelden, die al snel als Pop Art worden geïdentificeerd. Warhol is de tegenpool van de abstracte expressionisten die de jaren vijftig domineerden. Hij speelt met serieproductie en herdoopt zijn atelier ‘The Factory’; zijn kunst vat het naoorlogse consumentisme samen. In zijn eigen woorden: “Als je alles wilt weten over Andy Warhol, kijk dan gewoon naar de oppervlakte van mijn schilderijen en films en mezelf, en daar ben ik. Er zit niets achter.”
His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. Warhol's artwork ranged in many forms of media that include hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. He was a pioneer in computer-generated art using Amiga computers that were introduced in 1985, just before his death in 1987. He founded Interview Magazine and was the author of numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism: The Warhol Sixties. Andy Warhol is also notable as a gay man who lived openly as such before the gay liberation movement. His studio, The Factory, was a famous gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. Many of his creations are very collectible and highly valuable. Warhol's works include some of the most expensive paintings ever sold.