Cleve Carney Museum of Art and McAninch Arts Center To Host Warhol Exhibition in 2023
GLEN ELLYN, Ill. — Following the success of the summer 2021 blockbuster exhibition,Frida Kahlo: Timeless, the Cleve Carney Museum of Art (CCMA) and the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at the College of DuPage (COD) will present an exhibition of Andy Warhol in summer of 2023. The exhibition will feature 94 works from Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop / Works from the Bank of America Collection on loan through Bank of America’s Art in our Communities® program. The exhibition, scheduled for summer of 2023, will also include over 100 works from the College of DuPage Permanent Art Collection.
“It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to present work by an artist who embodies so much of the American dream. He captured American culture, iconography and society in such a relatable way,” said MAC Director Diana Martinez. “We are working hard at the College of DuPage to transform our arts center into an unforgettable experience and create partnerships throughout the community to welcome Warhol fans near and far to DuPage County.”
Notable works from the College of DuPage Permanent Art Collection include Warhol’s 1980 screen-printed portrait of Joseph Beuys as well as his iconic $ (1983). The exhibition will also present over 100 photographs by Warhol from the college’s permanent collection, comprised of both black-and-white gelatin silver prints and color Polaroid prints featuring unidentified figures and celebrities alike. These photographs offer a rare and intimate glimpse into Warhol’s New York of the 1970’s and 80’s.
The exhibition will encompass both the CCMA and the MAC, unfolding across roughly 10,000 square-feet of exhibition space. Educational and interactive elements will include a historical timeline, video archive installation, interactive mural, children’s print factory area, Studio 54 experience and Central Park-inspired outdoor café, creating an immersive, multifaceted exhibition focused on the life and work of one of the most influential artists of the past century.
“Andy Warhol’s work and celebrity redefined what it meant to be an artist and created a model that is still followed by artists today,” said CCMA Curator Justin Witte. “In many ways we are still living in Warhol’s world. I am extremely excited to be partnering with Bank of America on bringing this amazing exhibition to the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and McAninch Arts Center.”
The works from Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop / Works from the Bank of America Collection will include portfolios and individual prints by Warhol, starting with iconic works from the mid-1960's to the series of monoprints Vesuvius (1985). These prints demonstrate many aspects of Warhol’s art, including his brilliance as a colorist, which can be seen in the early Flowers and Sunset series. In later series, Warhol experimented with the silkscreen printing process to create complex surface layers.
“Bank of America believes that equitable access to the arts is essential to creating greater cultural understanding and building thriving communities,” said Rita Cook, president of Bank of America Chicago. “Through our Arts in our Communities® program, we’re able to share important pieces of artwork from our collection with museums and nonprofit galleries, broadening both the reach and impact of these cultural treasures. It’s a privilege to partner once again with the College of DuPage and to share this unique exhibit with Warhol fans and enthusiasts across Chicagoland.”
Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987) was a central figure in the Pop Art movement that emerged in the U.S. in the early 1950s and is the most recognizable artist of the second half of the twentieth century. Warhol worked across media, including painting, sculpture, film and printmaking. Warhol’s printed multiples were central to his practice allowing him to explore the aesthetics and mechanics of mass-produced images and popular culture. Through these prints, Warhol exhibited his mastery at identifying the defining cultural images of his time. Examples include the Wicked Witch of the West,Superman, and Howdy Doody along with the Myths portfolio featuring his self-portrait.
Warhol’s prints were not only concerned with pop-culture and celebrity, but also touched on other themes. Warhol’s Endangered Species series grew out of his concern for the environment. In 1979, with Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century, Warhol departed from his repeated images format to create a series of iconic images based on a single theme.
The exhibition and programming will be led by MAC Director Diana Martinez and CCMA Curator Justin Witte. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale on August 6, 2022. Additional details will be announced at a later date.