Posted March 30, 2016

By SAMANTHA COHEN

BOCA RATON, Fla.— The Boca Raton Museum of Art is currently exhibiting three different collections of Andy Warhol’s works throughout his career, including the “Warhol Prints from the Collection of Marc Bell,” “Warhol on Vinyl: The Record Covers, 1949-1987+” and “Bob Colacello: In and Out with Andy.” The exhibition exudes excitement, nostalgia and the pure essence of Warhol’s iconic life. Filled with colorful, pop art it is a trip down Warhol lane.

Andy Warhol made an undeniable mark on both the world of art and pop culture in the 1960s through the 1980s. Warhol understood and reflected the spirit of his time through his iconic works. In order to reach the widest audience possible he chose to recycle iconic images and turned them into prints. Warhol was the first to legitimize screen-printing a technique described as “oil painting by squeegee” that allows for subtle variation.

I was able to get into the museum admission for free by showing my student ID but my father had to pay $12 for a ticket. As we walked into the exhibition the first room was draped with Andy Warhol’s “Facsimile of Cow” wallpaper in bright yellow and pink, which was created in 1966. On the wall was a description of the screen-print that stated that in 1966 Warhol announced he would no longer make paintings so he founded “Factory Additions” in order to enter the print market. The “Cow” wallpaper was one of his first projects. The bright entrance to the exhibit set an exciting tone for the rest of Warhol’s colorful exhibition.

The first exhibit visitor’s see when you walk through is the “Warhol Print’s from the Collection of Marc Bell.” The exhibit included the iconic Campbell’s soup cans, images of Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and Mao as well as Warhol’s “Flowers,” “Dollar Signs” and “Camouflage.”

There were 20 different variations of the iconic Campbell’s soup cans, which I easily recognized. Out of all the prints on display the two collections I liked the most were Warhol’s “Flowers” and “Camouflage.” The eight “Camouflage” prints were created in 1987 out of the edition of 80.

I was stunned with these prints because I never knew Warhol had done any camouflage prints so I instantly fell in love with all of them.

Each print was bright and unique ranging from the classic green and beige camouflage to a pink, yellow and orange color group. Warhol’s “Flowers” also really appealed to me. I had seen these prints before but never up close. It was interesting to see that each individual piece in the edition had the same strokes yet varied in color. The color choices Warhol used on each really complimented one another.

Another portion of the print exhibit was of advertisement prints he created in 1985, which included Chanel, Mobil, “Rebel Without a Cause” (James Dean), Paramount, Apple and Lifesavers. I had learned from the museum tour guide that the first print Marc Bell had collected was the Apple ad, which I found interesting.

Each ad was very unique unlike his other works that were all very similar in design. I noticed that Warhol used hot pink as a central color. He also created portraits of iconic symbols in the entertainment industry from Mickey Mouse to the Wicked Witch from “The Wizard of Oz.” The majority of them had a black background the pops of color to extenuate the portrait of each character.

Another collection that was displayed was his “Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century,” which was created in 1980. These prints featured portraits of Albert Einstein, Franz Kafka, George Gershwin, Sigmund Freud and Gertrude Stein. These portraits were very unique from the rest of the prints I saw because they did not look identical in color palette or design. Each portrait was uniquely different, with its strokes and the placement of color.

These really stood out to me as something very bold and meaningful. Other prints on display were fun and bright where as these prints were more reserved with darker color tones.

Within the exhibition space that held the “Bob Colacello: In and Out with Andy” exhibit was a small room. This exhibit was very different compared to the rest of the works on display. Rather than look at bright prints or paintings, Colacello’s exhibit was comprised of small, black and white candid photographs of the glamorous, disco and drugs driven world of Andy Warhol.

On a white wall at the beginning of the exhibit was a description of Bob Colacello, the editor of Warhol’s “Interview” magazine from 1971 to 1983. The description explained his monthly “Out” column premiered in 1973 and how it was a personal diary of Warhol and his frenetic whirl of social events that included art openings, movie premieres, cocktail parties, discos and after-hours clubs populated with socialites and celebrities.

The images on display were very interesting because they were raw and candid. It allowed for an inside look of the man behind the art. I enjoyed this exhibit because it shared what his life was like and whom he surrounded himself with.

The rest of the exhibit examines his talent and artistry but this exhibition showed his true life and the people involved behind the scenes. Next to each framed image was a description that explained who and what the image was about. There were also a few vintage photographs that were published in Warhol’s “Interview” magazine. These photographs had red marks on them that were instructions for the printer. My favorite image captured was of Andre Leon, Steve Rubell and Warhol at Bianca Jagger’s Birthday dinner in 1981.

In another room of the exhibit, the “Warhol on Vinyl: The Record Cover, 1949-1987+” is displayed of more than 60 unique album covers designed for a diverse range of music artists from Gershwin, Count Basie to the Rolling Stones. The covers were displayed in glass cases that lined the room.

They were separated by 10 categories in a timeline fashion including “Early Years: Warhol the Commercial Illustrator,” “Warhol and Portraiture,” “Questions of Authentication,” “Drawing from Art History,“ “Warhol the POP Artist,” “Warhol the Producer,” “Mass Appeal,” “Factory Production” and “Warhol the Music Fan.”

Each category had examples displayed with a description of each. This exhibit was the most surprising part of the exhibition because I didn’t know he created record covers so every work was the first time I had seen it. I enjoyed having the descriptions of each category because it explained in depth Warhol’s background in each of his endeavors. I definitely learned a lot about Warhol during my visit to the exhibit that I didn’t know coming in to it. Everything was displayed in a very easy, organized fashion.

Also displayed were examples of Warhol bootlegs, rip-offs and homages. Since Warhol created his works based off aesthetics of everyday life, many people copied still copy his work. The wall featured record and CD covers by other musicians that have appropriated Warhol’s artwork, physical image or name.

While you walked around the “Vinyl Record Cover” exhibit, music could be heard from the records Warhol created covers for, including Aretha Franklin. On the wall, a projector displayed the artist’s name and song title with a picture of Warhol’s creation. This added to the overall experience.

This exhibition was outstanding and one of the best I’ve experienced. It was bright, creative and displayed a true reflection of Andy Warhol and his work. I was able to learn a lot about Warhol within not only his artistic career but his personal life as well, which helped paint a picture of who he was.

• “3X Warhol: Warhol Prints from the Collection of Marc Bell, Warhol on Vinyl: The Record Covers, 1949-1987+, Bob Colacello: In and Out with Andy”
• Boca Raton Museum of Art
• 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, Fla. 33432
• 561-392-2500
• Tickets $12 adults, $10 seniors (65+), students (with ID) free and children (12 and under) free
• Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday’s 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturdays & Sundays 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Mondays and holidays closed
• Exhibit dates: “Warhol Prints from the Collection of Marc Bell” through May 1, 2016, “Bob Colacello: In and Out with Andy” through May 1, 2016, “Warhol on Vinyl: The Record Covers, 1949-1987+” through April 10, 2016
• Parking garage available on site for free parking or metered parking is available
• 5 out of a 5 star rating