Vernissage on Friday, September 19th, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

James Francis Gill will be present in person

Introduction by Manuel Moosherr, author of the accompanying exhibition catalog

Two pioneers of Pop Art come together

With “Andy Warhol & James Francis Gill: Contemporaries”, the BEGE Galleries Ulm present a fascinating juxtaposition of two pioneers of American Pop Art. The exhibition pays tribute to these extraordinary artists who revolutionized the art world in the early 1960s and still retain their unmistakable influence on contemporary art today.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987), the superstar of Pop Art, transformed everyday objects and pop culture icons into timeless works of art with his soup cans, Marilyn portraits and depictions of Mao. Born in Pittsburgh, he started out as a successful commercial artist in the 1950s before beginning his unprecedented rise in the art world in 1962. With tireless ambition and a unique feel for the era, Warhol not only created a revolutionary artistic oeuvre, but also the “Andy Warhol” brand – a myth that remains unbroken to this day. The exhibition presents an exquisite selection of his limited and hand-signed screen prints, which impressively demonstrate his mastery of this technique and his iconic visual language.

James Francis Gill (*1934), an equally important co-founder of American Pop Art, was one of the first artists, together with Warhol, to create iconic works of the actress after Marilyn Monroe’s death in August 1962. While Gill became known in the 1960s primarily for his political anti-war motifs and the “Women in Cars” series, today he presents impressive depictions of Pop Art icons in his late work. The BEGE galleries are showing a multi-layered selection of his canvas works, editions and unique works on paper that represent both his early and his current work. Art historian Constance M. Perkins aptly described Gill’s art: “Hollywood sensuality gets its full swing with Gill.”

The exhibition highlights fascinating parallels and differences between these two artistic personalities: Warhol revolutionized the concept of the artist as a brand with his Factory and his connections to the celebrity world, while Gill pursued a more independent path that encompassed various creative fields and has regained international recognition with major museum exhibitions since 2005. Both benefited from patrons such as the de Menils and Philip Johnson and shared a historic moment when their Marilyn works were exhibited together at the Museum of Modern Art in the 1960s – a milestone in American art history.

“Andy Warhol & James Francis Gill: Contemporaries” at the BEGE Galleries Ulm invites art lovers and collectors to travel back in time to the Golden Age of American Pop Art and at the same time offers the rare opportunity to experience works by two masters of this era in direct dialog.

The book accompanying the exhibition

The exhibition is complemented by the book of the same name “Contemporaries”, which provides a deeper insight into the artistic and personal worlds of Warhol and Gill. It sheds light on important companions and patrons, without whom the success of both artists would not have been possible, and presents historical images and statements by important contemporary witnesses.