Campbell’s soup cans, Coca–Cola bottles -— such quotidian treasures are the type of imagery that the name of Warhol evokes. This month, the Da Vinci Art Alliance pays homage to the pop art legacy with their exhibition “Warholized (The Silver Show),” which commemorates the 25th anniversary of his death.
The show kicked off on February 4th with a panel discussion attended by Warhol’s nephew and niece, who awarded prizes to works such as Peter Seidel’s Lighters No. 4, a still life that shows the pure, brilliant beauty of light striking through colored transparent surfaces. The aesthetic philosophy of fusing lowbrow and highbrow was also apparent in other works, such as a digital print that rendered Raphael’s Madonna and Child in neon–bright hues and a "sculpture" of Warhol that incorporated found objects including a cat's scratching post as its base. Others drew inspiration from artist’s development of a creative personality.
The essence of Warhol was manifested in a three–dimensional interaction in Alden Cole’s Doing the Warhola diptych. As viewers approach this corner installation, they confront their own reflection repeated in a series of mirrors; the repeated visage is thus suggestive of one of Warhol’s silkscreened Marilyns and the impact of repetition.
Overall, 36 artists contribute to the show, and though each one reinterprets Warhol’s influence in their own way, the cohesive themes make “Warholized” a must for any pop art enthusiast.
