museum members
Andy Warhol: Shadows, 1978–79. Acrylic on canvas. 102 paintings on canvas (unframed), 193 x 132 x 2.9 cm each. Dia Art Foundation. View of the installation: Dia:Beacon, Beacon, New York. © 2016, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./VEGAP. Photo: Bill Jacobson
Andy Warhol: Shadows february 26–october gallery 105
2, 2016
In 1978, when he was 50 years old, Andy Warhol—assisted by his entourage at the Factory—embarked upon the production of Shadows, a monumental body of work that formalized some of the artist’s explorations of abstraction seen in earlier and later series. The radical implications of Shadows begin with their format: the series was conceived as one painting in 102 parts, where the final number is determined by the dimensions of the exhibition space. Unlike earlier works, in which thin layers of rolled acrylic paint constituted the backgrounds onto which black images were silkscreened, the backgrounds of the Shadows canvases were painted with a sponge mop, adding a sense of gesture to the picture plane. All 102 “shadows” are displayed at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, alternating between positive and negative imprints as they march along the gallery wall. Far from replicas, each Shadow corresponds to a form that reveals its space with precision, directing the spectator’s gaze to the light. By focusing on the shadow to devise light, Warhol returned to the quintessential problem of art: perception. Exhibition organized by the Dia Art Foundation
Prize draw for 25 double invitations to the vernissage of Andy Warhol: Shadows in collaboration with:
and 25 double invitations to the vernissage of LOUISE Bourgeois. Structures of Existence: The Cells Log in at www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/en (Join & Support/ Museum Members/Private Area) to find out if you are one of the Museum Members who will receive an invitation for two to attend the opening night of these exhibitions. The lucky winners will receive their invitations by mail.