Andy Warhol
Artist
Born in Pittsburgh in 1928, in the 1950s Andy Warhol became one of the most successful illustrators in the New York advertising industry. In the early 60s, he began working with painting and silkscreens, producing series that explore the iconic potential of images of consumer society and the plastic variations of analogue reproduction technologies. In 1963, he bought a 16mm Bolex camera and embarked on his short but prolific career as a filmmaker, heading a studio of young people, drug addicts, models and artists that aspired to reproduce the Hollywood star system. In just six years, he made over 950 films, including some 150 feature films, expanding the possibilities of cinema on a variety of fronts (thematic, economic, iconographic and formal).
In the 1970s, Warhol replaced his bohemian social circles with upper-class New Yorkers, turning his own image into an iconic brand thanks to recurring appearances on television and in advertising. Up until his death in 1987, he produced a vast number of photographs, silkscreens, paintings and drawings, many of them commissioned portraits. In the mid-80s he collaborated with young artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, with whom he created over 150 paintings in a four-year period.
Update: 9 January 2025