Andy Warhol Print Exhibit Opens at Portland Art Museum

The Portland Art Museum opens a new retrospective exhibit featuring prints from the rare Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation. Curated by Sara Krajewski, the exhibit contains roughly 250 prints and spans two floors of the museum. The exhibit will open October 8 and run through January 1. It's free for members and children 17 or younger. Adults and college students can purchase tickets in advance. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.

About the Exhibit.

Printmaking was vital to Andy Warhol's artistic process, and he relied heavily on silk screening in his reproduction of mechanical art. "I'm for mechanical art. When I took up silk screening, it was to more fully exploit the preconceived image through multiple techniques of multiple production." - Andy Warhol

The curator of this exhibit, Sara Krajewski, commented on this exhibit. “This retrospective provides an in-depth look at how the artist manipulated the seductive power of the photographic and the televisual in his printmaking. Thirty-five years of prints offer a compelling view of Warhol’s critical use of new imaging formats and technologies, from newsprint distribution to instant cameras, television and video."

The exhibit features American pop icons, such as Mick Jagger, Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. When viewed in its entirety, the exhibit is meant to be a reflection on pop culture in America, the glamorous lifestyle and the nation's obsession with Hollywood icons.

Richard H. Axsom, senior curator at the Portland Museum of Art and contributing writer to the exhibition catalog, remarks on the contradiction between the bold, intense aesthetic quality of Warhol's work and the humble nature of the artist himself.

"Warhol fashioned in his major print series a body of work of immeasurable power. Under-appreciated is its profound humanity, often obscured by the glamour and glitz of Warhol’s public persona. For an artist known for his superficiality, Warhol was among the least superficial artists of his time.”

Interested in becoming a member? Join the Portland Art Museum and get priority access to all upcoming exhibits.

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Images via Ian Gillingham; Portland Art Museum - Jordan D. Schnitzer Foundation