Curated by Alain Cueff and Emilia Philippot
Andy Warhol’s entire operation—much like the diptych portraits to be included in this exhibition—was always a Janus-faced endeavor. Both the depth and face value of his work relied on binaries—before and after, ugly and beautiful—and the tension that ricocheted between the two. This survey will examine Warhol’s dalliances in the outmoded genre of commissioned portraiture, particularly during the 1970s and ’80s, when the aspirational Andy flattered the faces of the rich and famous, from Fiat mogul Gianni Agnelli to Brigitte Bardot. Recent attempts to rehabilitate late Warhol have focused on his worthier, October-approved output, transfixed by mortality (think skull paintings). Let’s hope this exhibition—whose title seems to embrace the expansive nature of Warhol’s practice—redresses the imbalance and brings new attention to the rigorously glamorous side of his enterprise.
