UW Art Museum Presents Two Installations of Work by Andy Warhol

Beginning this week, two installations featuring the work and personality of iconic pop artist Andy Warhol will be on display at the University of Wyoming Art Museum.

“Andy Warhol: 15 Prints,” on view now, brings together 15 of Warhol’s screen prints from the collections of UW’s Art Museum; the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art at Colorado State University; and the University of Colorado Art Museum. The exhibition explores how these works came to reside at the three institutions. The exhibit also will celebrate major gifts from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in 2008 and 2014, as well as earlier donations made by private collectors in the 1970s and 1980s.

The featured artworks span from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s and trace Warhol’s enduring fascination with celebrity, appropriation and mass culture -- themes that remain strikingly relevant today. Some of Warhol’s most recognizable imagery, such as flowers and repeated portraits, are on view alongside more challenging works such as “Little Electric Chair” (1965) and selections from his “Cowboys and Indians” series (1986). Together, these works reflect Warhol’s keen interest in the power of mass-produced images and their social meaning, even as he transforms those same visual strategies into the fabric of his art.

“Andy Warhol: 10 Clips,” on view beginning Saturday, Jan. 31, features footage from a 1981 trip to Colorado State University tied to an exhibition of his prints. Over three days, Warhol toured campus, attended the exhibition opening and took part in a filmed roundtable discussion. The footage offers a rare look at Warhol outside major art-world hubs and highlights his evolving interests late in his career. While often evasive when asked about his own art, Warhol is animated when discussing technology -- especially electronics and luxury items such as Rolex watches -- reflecting his growing fascination with new media and his encouragement of younger artists to explore video and emerging technologies.

The 10 clips featured capture this contrast, revealing Warhol’s shy public persona and moments of unexpected enthusiasm. Shown alongside his works in the UW Art Museum gallery, the videos situate Warhol as an icon as well as a curious, media-savvy artist navigating a moment when art, technology and celebrity were increasingly intertwined.

“Andy Warhol: 15 Prints” is on view until Saturday, May 30, and “Andy Warhol: 10 Clips” is on view until Wednesday, Dec. 23.

The UW Art Museum exhibits, preserves and interprets visual culture from around the world to engage academic, local, state, national and global communities. The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 E. Willett Drive in Laramie. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday hours are extended to 7 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information, call Michelle Sunset, director of curatorial affairs, at (307) 766-6621 or email msunset@uwyo.edu.

For media inquiries, call Fred Hirschman, communications coordinator, at (307) 766-3497 or email Fred.Hirschman@uwyo.edu.