Warhol's Wide World - Exhibit (Paris, France)

Sorry for the lack of updates - I've been in London since late last week so I spent most of my time trying not to melt in the sweltering heat. But there is something I have been meaning to post about for the longest time. A few weeks ago, I finally had the time to go to 'Le Grande Mode d'Andy Warhol' or 'Warhol's Wide World' exhibit in the Grand Palais in Paris - showcasing the largest collection (to this date) of Warhol's portraits in one place. Warhol himself considered most of his work to consist of portraits, whether it's the famous Campbell's soup cans or coke bottles. Of course his most famous portraits are still those featuring people and personalities which is also where the focus of this exhibition lies. Almost 150 pieces of art have been sourced from various museums and private collections, some made public for the very first time.

While I was aware I would be seeing a lot of Warhol pieces, I was still stunned by the amount of portraits the curators managed to bring together under one roof. Many of the portraits, which were initially part of a set, have been separated throughout the years, so it's not always that easy to see his complete works - even when viewing them in other museums. This is my attempt to give a virtual tour of the exhibit and I'll try to keep it verbally short.

Unlike some retrospectives, this one was thankfully not categorized in a strict chronological order, but rather grouped according to the type of personality Warhol depicted. The first rooms showed some of his self-portraits as well as his more famous works featuring Marilyn Monroe or the Mona Lisa.

The largest section however was dedicated to the rooms that featured his commissioned work. As Warhol made no differentiation when it came to who he portrayed, as long as his asking price of $ 25000 for the first (and $ 15000 for each subsequent) portrait was met, there were a lot of subjects one probably wouldn't recognize, aside from the impressive 36 portraits of Ethel Skull.

Above: Ethel Skull. Below left: moving video portraits.

As part of the 'Ladies and Gentlemen' series, an adjoining room presented Warhol's pieces dedicated to transvestites and other people he considered to have an ambiguous sexuality - which apparently included Chairman Mao. Original Polaroid shots (not of Mao though) could be seen as well, one of which featured the artist himself wearing way too much make-up and sporting a blond wig. Mao wallpaper served as the backdrop, giving the whole area an even more colorful vibe.

Transvestites in the 'Ladies and Gentlemen' series. Right: original Polaroids.

The very impressive Mao section (main image: Reuters).

The next section had two large white walls on each side, this time with more portraits in groups of two showcasing mainly unknown yet wealthy people or successful businessmen and jet setters such as Gunther Sachs or Gianni Agnelli. A large middle table featured more original Polaroids in bad quality, which was intentional. According to Warhol, he chose to capture people by showing only the most necessary facial outlines but without highlighting any blemishes or wrinkles. No wonder people loved his portraits!

Portraits featuring obscure and well-known personalities, including Gianni Agnelli (lower right).

Above: Original Polaroids on display. Below: more portraits, including Gunther Sachs.

One of the few non-people portraits to be exhibited...

Right: This portrait was only visible when illuminated by UV light in a dark room.

Of course Warhol did more than portray people's faces. His connections and fascination with celebrity were furthermore fueled when he founded Interview Magazine (along with Gerard Malanga) in 1969. The hallway towards the end of the ground floor and leading up to the first level displayed the range of Interview Magazine covers throughout the years.

View of the hallway displaying Interview Magazine covers.

The ground floor showcased the majority of Warhol's work - which included portraits of mostly unknown people, something with which Warhol managed to finance a lot of his other more creative endeavors. The upper level was more categorized, with (mostly celebrities) grouped according to the field in which they worked in. Three Debbie Harry pieces were prominently featured, along with a nearby video running on a loop which showed Ms. Harry posing while Warhol took her picture.

Debbie Harry portraits and original Polaroids.

The same room was dedicated to other movie and rock stars. Mick Jagger portraits showed Warhol's experimentation with 3D effects.

Sylvester Stallone, Mick Jagger (center and lower right), Brigitte Bardot and Lana Turner to name a few.

While his Elvis (and other) works showed how he played with featuring more than just the subject's head...

Upper right: View of the exhibition space. Warhol's works here showed the subject's entire body.

Another category featured portraits of Warhol's fellow artists.

Left: Roy Lichtenstein. Right: David Hockney, Georgia O'Keeffe

Quoting Warhol himself "big-time art is big-time money". Aside from being fixated by celebrity, Warhol was fascinated by wealth, but also by death. Many think his portrayal of skulls symbolized the fact that underneath it all, everyone is the same, regardless of fame and fortune. Portraits of his wealthier clients, including successful businessmen and high powered CEO's were displayed in this area as well.

The iconic dollar sign was featured here alongside more portraits and skull imagery.

Gotta love the cow wallpaper. A room covered wall-to-wall in this fabulous print featured black and white photographs of Warhol at various events, in Studio 54 and in most cases, alongside beautiful and/or rich famous people. Running videos showed various interviews with the artist.

Cow wallpaper as a backdrop in the photo and video room.

Not sure if some of you had heard that in advance of this exhibition opening, there was some controversy surrounding the portraits of Yves Saint Laurent that were to be included in this next section, dedicated to fashion designers. YSL's long-time partner Pierre Berge withdrew the portraits when he found out they were to be hung alongside other designers in the 'glamour' section, claiming that YSL was more than just a mere fashion designer but a true artist instead, deserving a spot in the previous category. While I agree to some extent, I think the same can be said about most fashion designers and Berge's statement shows a bit of disrespect towards the other visionaries such as Halston, Giorgio Armani or Sonia Rykiel, who form part of this group.

The fact that Warhol depicted shoes in various works proves he's a genius. Portraits include Armani, Sonia Rykiel, Halston and Carolina Herrera.

The room for politicians and royalty included the very powerful portrait of Lenin (my lame photograph doesn't do it justice) and a very odd-looking piece featuring Princess Diana, commissioned by a Hong Kong bar owner.

Left: Lenin. Right: Jackie O, Princess Di and Willie Brandt.

Leading up to the second-last area, several portraits of famed scientists and other personalities from the academic field were presented. The majority of Warhol's works here consisted of family portraits showing several generations within a family. The final 'people' portrait in the entire collection is the two-set piece of Warhol's own family, featuring his mother.

Upper left: Personalities from science and academia. Various family portraits including Warhol's mother (lower right).

The last section showcased Warhol's later obsession with religion and death, with more skull images and most notably the piece featuring the Electric Chair - considered to be the modern-day crucifix. Along an entire white wall leading towards the exit, Warhol's visually striking 'Details of the Last Supper' (aka 'Christ 112 times') can be found.

For those around Paris or even Europe, this exhibit is a must ,not just for Warhol fans but art-lovers in general (it's still on until July 13). It's a rare chance to see so many of his works, especially portraits, gathered in one place and as the genius of Warhol's pieces lies in the repetition, nothing compares to seeing the sets of portraits side by side. The exhibit also gives a lot of background information on the artist, how he worked and the methods used to create his portraits. And as people of today are still as obsessed (if not more) with celebrity, money, religion, ageing and especially outer appearance, his works are still very much a reflection of modern-day society.

Left: The exit with more cow wallpaper and silver clouds. Right: Warhol goodies in the gift shop.

As the man himself once said: “All my portraits have to be the same size, so they’ll all fit together and make one big painting called Portraits of Society. That’s a good idea, isn’t it? Maybe the Metropolitan Museum would want it someday.” Not quite, but the Grand Palais came pretty close to achieving this.

And for those who won't get a chance to see this, but still want a souvenir - Pepe Jeans currently has a great Warhol collection out. The Paris store is giving away tickets to the exhibit if you buy stuff over a certain amount, but the range is also available worldwide. For a more literary approach, I'd also highly recommend getting the official exhibition book, which is avaible via Amazon here.

Above left: Shop window of the Pepe Jeans store in Paris. A few examples of their current Warhol range (campaign images: Pepe Jeans).

Address: 3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris

Opening Hrs: Mon-Sun: 10:00-22:00
except Tue: closed & Thu: until 20:00

Official Exhibition Homepage