The Andy Warhol Museum is turning 30.
As part of celebrating this milestone, the new exhibit “KAWS + Warhol” opens today at the museum on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The exhibition will be on display through Jan. 20.
This collection of works puts the art of Andy Warhol in conversation with the work of KAWS, a contemporary artist known for painting and sculpting a set of recognizable figures, and examines the similar themes and stylistic elements that are drawn out by bringing their work together.
Patrick Moore, director of the Warhol, curated “KAWS + Warhol.”
Galleries on both the second and fourth floors of the museum are filled with the work of this pair of artists, often placed in juxtaposition with each other in ways that show off their shared interests.
While not formally part of the exhibition — which will show internationally after its run in Pittsburgh — there is a third segment: a large wooden sculpture, which stands in Pop Park across from the museum, and a mural by KAWS.
“We thought that it was important to do it because we know there are a lot of people — who may or may not be museum people — who might be going to a game, for example, and it’s a way to introduce them to the museum,” Moore said. The statue and mural are part of The Pop District, a new public art initiative by the museum.
Moore wanted to bring an artist to the Warhol who would engage young people, but he wanted to do something a little bit more interesting than a standard survey exhibition. So he approached KAWS with a possible concept.
“The idea that I proposed to him, and he accepted, was to look at the darkness in both of their work.”
This may not seem intuitive — Warhol is most well-known for pop art involving commercial, often lighthearted subject matter. But the exhibition is highly effective and well-curated, pulling together select pieces from both artists that weave together new and evocative threads.
A prime example is the striking image posed to viewers as they enter the second floor gallery.
On the wall hangs Andy Warhol’s “Ambulance Disaster,” serving as a backdrop for a large, facedown figure of KAWS’ famous character Companion. This is the introduction that greets museum-goers, giving them an idea of what’s in store. The two pieces are framed by walls on which hang Warhol’s famous “Skulls.” Moore said that those paintings are his favorite works by Warhol.
The other segments of the exhibition through the second floor gallery explore more morbid themes reflected in the work of Warhol and KAWS.
But there are also aspects of nostalgia and commercialism in both creators’ works.
“There is this sense of yearning for childhood,” Moore said.
Aspects of anxiety, trauma and the fleeting nature of beauty are evident in the pieces featured. Many of the paintings and figures are bright and beautiful, but with an undercurrent of something darker.
Another area features self-reflective pieces, placing them together to show the artists disappearing into their art.
The fourth floor gallery is a bit less macabre, but still maintains the thread of lively conversation between Warhol and KAWS.
This section features Warhol’s famous Brillo boxes displayed in front of a series of large cereal box paintings created by KAWS. These reflect the recent commission that KAWS had with General Mills to design his figures onto boxes of popular, classic cereals including Boo Berry, Fruit Brute and Count Chocula.
Certain limited edition boxes of the General Mills cereals had different, darker designs — some of these boxes, in plexiglas, are displayed, Warhol-wallpaper style, behind the bigger paintings.
An even smaller number of limited-edition boxes of cereal contained plastic toys of the figures featured. KAWS made mega-versions of them, too. The cereal paintings are flanked on either side by large, colorful sculptures of the monsters.
It is a surprisingly satisfying image, and definitely evokes the nostalgia that Moore referenced.
Moore said that he thinks Warhol would have felt positively about this exhibition.
“I think Andy would’ve loved the idea of collaborating with somebody like (KAWS).”
He cited the several collaborations that Warhol did with younger artists in the 1980s — to mixed critical reception at the time.
“The energy and excitement and friendship between those artists were really important to Warhol.”
“KAWS + Warhol” will be open to the public beginning Saturday and on display through Jan. 20. To learn more about the museum and this exhibition, visit warhol.org.
Alexis Papalia is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at apapalia@triblive.com.
