Andy Warhol: Works from the hall collection

The complexity of Andy Warhol (1928-1987) encompassed every morsel of a memorable existence. His evolution as an artist was paralleled by behaviour, lifestyle and creative interpretation, which fashioned his signature style.

Warhol began working life as a commercial artist but harboured ambitions to be recognised for fine art. As a public figure he exploited self-image despite relishing a degree of privacy. A Roman Catholic, he had a commitment to charity work and was a discreet regular church attendee.

Much of the output from this multidimensional talent encompassed these polarised views. Absorbed with the concept of celebrity and determined to become famous, Warhol’s positive and negative silkscreens on linen, canvas and laundry bags, for instance, are testament to his extreme outlook and take their place amongst over 100 paintings, sculptures, screenprints and drawings that form the Ashmolean’s major spring exhibition.

The works displayed in the first of three galleries were created in Warhol’s Silver Factory – as much a party venue as artist studio – and reveal the range of media he exploited. For instance, while the iconic and colourful Brillo Soap Pads Box initially draws the gaze, equally eye-catching is The American Man, the intensity of the series engagingly reflecting layers of national attributes. Like many of the pieces on display – from Flowers to Campbell’s Soup Cans and Twenty Fuchsia Maos – these are instantly recognisable, though their familiarity makes them no less powerful.

Celebrating another of Warhol’s passions and willingness to engage in the potential of different media, four screens run excerpts of his mid-1960s flirtation with film, reduced speeds adding to their dreamlike qualities.

The largest gallery exposes the pop artist’s sense of colour and experiments in abstraction. Here one wall is dominated by commissioned portraits spanning the 1970s up to the year before his death and highlights performers, socialites and politicians of the era. Meanwhile his contemporary, Joseph Beuys, features opposite in more subdued tones.

Warhol’s fascination with his own death is particularly obvious in the final gallery of black-and-white images where considerations of mortality filter throughout his later works – Heaven And Hell Are Just One Breath Away being particularly prescient. Unlike a museum retrospective, this exhibition is a public showcase of a private collection and the Ashmolean is indebted to Andrew and Christine Hall for their generosity in sharing this legacy that provides the public with the opportunity to witness the talent and diversity of one of the world’s most prolific and intriguing provocateurs.

Until 15 May at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Beaumont Street, Oxford: 01865- 278000; www.ashmolean.org