Warhol was an outsider. An artist of Czech origin that moved to the United States who knew how to take advantage of the kindness and badness of the social and economic system that welcomed him. From his beginnings as a graphic designer in New York, this misplaced creator was able to make a critical reading of the environment to produce the pieces that have made out of his work an iconic reference of contemporary art.

Andy Warhol. “Brillo Box”, 19664-1968. Museo colleção Berardo, Lisboa. © 2017 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / VEGAP

The modernity of his proposals, if the term is considered appropriate, was misunderstood at the beginning. The fame of this artist was built up with perseverance and obstinacy. Following a pattern faithful to his ideas and a colourful spirit but not innocuous, Warhol was able to overcome the setbacks of the market to stand up his own visual identity.

Andy Warhol. Cows on painted paper, 1966. Collection of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. © 2017 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / VEGAP

This exhibition highlights one of the essential aspects of his creative process, so related to graphic art. The possibilities of unlimited reproduction of his works, an aspect that reflects the American mentality of the super production based on the assembly line, clashes with the personalisations that Warhol made and with the own characteristics of this process, in which there are never two pieces absolutely identical. The density of the inks, the imperfections of the support, the wear of the plates... make the pieces, even conceived to be reproduced in mass, never be identical.

Andy Warhol. “Kétchup Heinz Box”, 1964. Collection of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. © 2017 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / VEGAP

The exhibition traces the career of this artist up to his death, who faced the last creative years with a turn to the business world, another aspect that reflected the impact of the American idiosyncrasy in his career choices. After an assassination attempt in 1968, Warhol becomes a character in himself, a creator who made of his own image an iconic element at an international scale.