Oxidation
Oxidation Painting, 1978
by Andy Warhol
Urine and copper metallic paint on canvas
The Oxidation series of paintings, or ‘piss paintings’, were created by Warhol and his assistant either urinating or pouring urine onto a canvas primed with paint mixed with copper. The chemical reaction, or oxidation, created ‘blooms’ of colour. Warhol was especially excited by the change of colour that was created as a result of his studio assistant Ronnie Cutrone’s vitamin B supplements. The works have been interpreted as a parody of abstract expressionist painting and a record of his collaborative and experimental approach to painting.
[Tate Modern]
Andy Warhol
(March – November 2020)
A new look at the extraordinary life and work of the pop art superstar
Andy Warhol was the son of immigrants who became an American icon. A shy gay man who became the hub of New York’s social scene. An artist who embraced consumerism, celebrity and the counter culture – and changed modern art in the process.
He was born in 1928 as Andrew Warhola to working-class parents from present day Slovakia. In 1949 he moved from Pittsburgh to New York. Initially working as a commercial illustrator, his skill at transforming the imagery of American culture soon found its realisation in his ground-breaking pop art.
This major retrospective is the first Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern for almost 20 years. As well as his iconic pop images of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s soup cans, it includes works never seen before in the UK. Twenty-five works from his Ladies and Gentlemen series – portraits of black and Latinx drag queens and trans women – are shown for the first time in 30 years.
Popularly radical and radically popular, Warhol was an artist who reimagined what art could be in an age of immense social, political and technological change.
[Tate Modern]
Oxidation
Oxidation Painting, 1978
by Andy Warhol
Urine and copper metallic paint on canvas
The Oxidation series of paintings, or ‘piss paintings’, were created by Warhol and his assistant either urinating or pouring urine onto a canvas primed with paint mixed with copper. The chemical reaction, or oxidation, created ‘blooms’ of colour. Warhol was especially excited by the change of colour that was created as a result of his studio assistant Ronnie Cutrone’s vitamin B supplements. The works have been interpreted as a parody of abstract expressionist painting and a record of his collaborative and experimental approach to painting.
[Tate Modern]
Andy Warhol
(March – November 2020)
A new look at the extraordinary life and work of the pop art superstar
Andy Warhol was the son of immigrants who became an American icon. A shy gay man who became the hub of New York’s social scene. An artist who embraced consumerism, celebrity and the counter culture – and changed modern art in the process.
He was born in 1928 as Andrew Warhola to working-class parents from present day Slovakia. In 1949 he moved from Pittsburgh to New York. Initially working as a commercial illustrator, his skill at transforming the imagery of American culture soon found its realisation in his ground-breaking pop art.
This major retrospective is the first Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern for almost 20 years. As well as his iconic pop images of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s soup cans, it includes works never seen before in the UK. Twenty-five works from his Ladies and Gentlemen series – portraits of black and Latinx drag queens and trans women – are shown for the first time in 30 years.
Popularly radical and radically popular, Warhol was an artist who reimagined what art could be in an age of immense social, political and technological change.
[Tate Modern]