Art historically, with Warhol, subject matter is usually mentioned first, as with his iconic photosilkscreen portraits and thematically framed series such as the "disasters." As an abstract artist, Warhol has been less known. Yet, since his death in 1987, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has meted out works from the artist's private inventory, revealing a number of ambitious "abstract" series dating from 1978-1986, including: "Oxidation" (or Piss), "Camouflage," "Shadows," "Eggs," "Yarn" and "Rorschach." These were collected together in 1993 for the show "Andy Warhol Abstrakt" at the Kunsthalle, Basel. With the exception of the "Oxidation" series, made by urination on copper-treated canvases that oxidized accordingly, all these "abstract" series were based on photo-based images of various kinds.

It was in this Swiss show's catalogue that dealer Kern, a German national, came across a reproduction of one small anomalous canvas, a wholly abstract work, which immediately sparked his curiosity. He made a formal inquiry to the Warhol Foundation and was informed that the remainder of the series, some 15 works, was intact and available for exhibition.

All the works on view are 20 x 16 in. and have been painted with silkscreen ink and synthetic polymer paint that has been poured, smeared or brushed onto the canvas through an intermediary blank silkscreen. The resulting surfaces are painterly yet grainy, carrying the look of the printing process that is implicated, if not truly involved, in their making. In many, the inking of one silkscreen carries over to the next, so that common formal motifs are repeated from work to work.

MORE...