Andy Warhol - Editions & Works on Paper New York Thursday, February 15, 2024 | Phillips

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  • “I like the politics of Beuys. He should come to the US and be politically active there. That would be great... He should be President.”
    —Andy Warhol

     

    Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys, though distinct in their artistic approaches, were united in their status as icons of 20th-century art, both committed to constructing artistic personalities that came to define their work. Beuys, a leading figure in the Fluxus and Conceptual Art movements, explored the realms of social sculpture and shamanistic practices, emphasizing the potency of the idea and the transformative ability of art in society. By contrast, Warhol, the preeminent Pop artist, was known for his fascination with consumerism and celebrity culture. He created vibrant images of highly recognizable people, symbols and commodities, often utilizing the silkscreen technique to echo mass-media.  Despite their differences, both Beuys and Warhol became renowned figures as they subverted the established norms of their time, disregarding artistic convention. For that reason, publishers Jörg Schellmann and Bernd Klüser, together with art dealer Lucio Amelio, suggested that Warhol make portraits of Beuys, a fellow artist with myth-like status to rival his own.

     

    Warhol met Beuys in 1979 when he visited New York for his Guggenheim retrospective, and a critic wrote that the occasion “had all the ceremonial aura of two rival popes meeting in Avignon.” That same year, the two artists met again at the Hans Mayer Gallery in Dusseldorf. There, Warhol took a polaroid of Beuys which would become the basis for the multiple portraits he made of him. Ranging from colorful repetitions, to subtle black-on-black images, to vivid camouflage overlays, Warhol's portraits of Beuys not only signify the crossover of two icons of contemporary art, but also serve as visual testament to the deep mutual respect shared between these influential figures.

    • Literature

      Freyda Feldman and Jörg Schellmann 371

    • Artist Biography

      Andy Warhol

      American • 1928 - 1987

      Andy Warhol was the leading exponent of the Pop Art movement in the U.S. in the 1960s. Following an early career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol achieved fame with his revolutionary series of silkscreened prints and paintings of familiar objects, such as Campbell's soup tins, and celebrities, such as Marilyn Monroe. Obsessed with popular culture, celebrity and advertising, Warhol created his slick, seemingly mass-produced images of everyday subject matter from his famed Factory studio in New York City. His use of mechanical methods of reproduction, notably the commercial technique of silk screening, wholly revolutionized art-making.

      Working as an artist, but also director and producer, Warhol produced a number of avant-garde films in addition to managing the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and founding Interview magazine. A central figure in the New York art scene until his untimely death in 1987, Warhol was notably also a mentor to such artists as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

       

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59

Joseph Beuys in Memoriam, from For Joseph Beuys (F. & S. 371)

1986
Screenprint in colors, on Arches paper, the full sheet.
S. 32 x 24 in. (81.3 x 61 cm)
Signed and numbered 89/90 in pencil (there was also an edition of 30 in Roman numerals and 20 artist's proofs), co-published by Galerie Bernd Klüser, Munich, Germany and Editions Schellmann, Munich, Germany and New York, framed.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$15,000 - 25,000 

Sold for $15,240

Editions & Works on Paper

New York Auction 15 February 2024