What can one say about Andy Warhol that hasn’t already been said? You’d be surprised. Here’s a fun fact I found out this past weekend when I (finally) made it to the “Warhol” exhibition at The Cleve Carney Museum of Art (CCMA): In the 1950s Warhol shared an apartment with his mother on East 57th Street in New York with twenty-five cats. That’s not even the best part: all of them were named Sam with only one exception, Hester! And there’s more: In 1974, Warhol published a limited-edition artist book titled “25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy” featuring calligraphy by his mother, Julia Warhola, who’s also responsible for the dropped “d” in the title, which Warhol chose to preserve. The kicker? The book only featured sixteen cats!
That is to say, that a Warhol exhibition is never just another Warhol exhibition. This applies to the CCMA one, showcasing ninety-four masterpieces from “Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop | Works from the Bank of America Collection,” which spans the entire museum space and includes a wide range of his life’s work. The exhibition kicks off with a proper throwback shedding light onto his childhood and upbringing, family history and early days as an ever-curious kid who’s creatively inclined and sort of fame-obsessed.
The short version of his life story goes loosely like this: Born in Pittsburgh in 1928, Warhol relocated to New York City at the age of twenty-one, aspiring to become a commercial illustrator. His journey saw him emerge as a groundbreaking, often provocative artist, whose work ranged across vastly different media—from sketches, prints and installations, to paintings, photographs and films. Plus, he was a V.I.P. regular of the infamous Studio 54 and manager of the Velvet Underground. Now considered the father of the pop art movement and a distinctly New York icon, Warhol is undoubtedly one of a kind.
The CCMA exhibition follows a chronological order, of sorts, where the viewer is taken on a journey through Warhol’s life and creative experimentations, brand collaborations, famous friendships and heartbreaking incidents, like his 1968 shooting by radical feminist Valerie Solanas that he survived but not without suffering lifelong physical and emotional distress. It includes the obvious classics: the 1964 Brillo boxes and Campbell’s soup cans from 1962; a deep dive into his New York studio, which was dubbed “The Factory;” and his 1966 “Silver Clouds”—a truly immersive experience where the viewer finds themselves in a gallery full of floating pillow-shaped metallic balloons. There, an Instagram shot becomes (almost) mandatory and I can’t think of a better way to pay tribute to Warhol.
His iconic Marilyn diptychs, sunset series, and a handful of his Vesuvius works are on view at an uber-colorful gallery that naturally draws one right in. Interview magazines are also prominently displayed. Co-founded in late 1969 by Warhol and British journalist John Wilcock, the iconic publication originally served as a (sneaky-smart) way to get into movie premieres and other events to which the artist was not invited, but soon became an important part of his legacy before it folded as a print publication in 2018 after nearly fifty years in business. Elsewhere, a gallery is dedicated to photographs—more than 150 of them—featuring anything and everything. Think: celebrities, friends and family members, amid animals (a pig!), bottles of Absolut vodka and Santa Claus. Warhol’s playful eye is unmistakably present in a refreshing way that makes one feel weirdly closer to him.
And let’s not forget the cats, one of the artist’s favorite subjects in the 1950s. The Sams are depicted in bright blue, vibrant pink, sunshine yellow and more otherworldly hues (a quick check reveals that he actually produced thousands of whimsical cat portraits) that make them all the cuter. Additionally, the museum has given their theater a mild Studio 54 vibe with disco balls and mannequins wearing outfits from eras past, has turned their outdoor space into a Central Park-inspired hangout and has provided the perfect opportunity to taste a cup of the iconic Campbell’s soup—just head to the cafeteria.
Considering the historic scope of the exhibition and just how prolific Warhol was, the CCMA goes to great lengths to provide background and perspective to those who are willing to find out more. There’s a fair amount of reading throughout the exhibition, but in this case museum labels do more than provide mere information: they take the viewer on a revelatory journey, reframing perceptions along the way and provoking a lasting reaction—much like my cat fact that served as a piece of the puzzle I didn’t know I was missing.
This brings me full circle to my point that a Warhol exhibition is never just another Warhol exhibition. You see, the effect of Warhol lies beyond the familiarity of his work. By distorting, rethinking and even rejecting our cultural icons, he prompts the viewer to reconsider their individual and collective identity—examine what really makes them who they are. Then by simply putting the pieces together again they reveal a new version of themselves. And that’s a challenging road worth taking.
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