Screenprint Edition: A.P 13/50

90.5 × 90.5 cm. 35 5/8 × 35 5/8 in.

Numbered and signed in English with artist's studio stamp on the reverse

LITERATURE
1997, Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonne 1962-1987 Third Edition, Distributed Art Publisher & Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, New York, p. 142
2003, Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonne 1962-1987 Fourth Edition, Distributed Art Publisher & Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, New York, p. 83
2018, Made in Asia, Opera Gallery, New York, p.90
EXHIBITED(different edition)
14-27 Mar 2018, Made in Asia, Opera Gallery, New York

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Europe
20 Sep 2017, Sotheby's London Autumn Auction, Lot 234
Acquired directly by present Asian collector from the above

Eternal Idol
Warhol’s Mao

Andy Warhol is known as one of the most famous figures in the 20th century. He is an American artist, film director and pioneer of pop art, leaving a great influence on later generations. He used the serigraph technique in his bold creation to illustrate the theme of mass production under capitalism in a relaxing way through the reproduction nature of printmaking. In the 1906s, after successfully bringing the daily necessities of the public, Campbell's Soup Cans, to the field of art by serigraph, Warhol began to think about the next theme that can truly represent pop art and arouse the interest of the general public.

Warhol was fascinated not only by individual celebrities but also by the composition of fame itself. By repeatedly displaying the same image, even the use of different colors can produce a different atmosphere. In July 1971, President Richard Nixon announced that he was going to visit China. This action broke the cold war situation between China and the United States which had been lasting for 24 years, reminding Warhol to think about painting the portrait of Chairman Mao. A year later, he produced a series of portraits of Chairman Mao, which are still among the most representative collections of many prestigious art institutions and private collections in the world. The Mao presented in this auction is the artist's self-retention of these screen printing classics, which is of great collection significance.
Warhol's Mao series is based on the Mao Zedong statue in Tiananmen Square. Against the traditional red color which used to paint Mao Zedong's portrait, a soft and flowing pink is painted as the background. Mao's Zhongshan suit has changed from dark blue to a lighter one close to the color of the sky or the color of washed jeans, echoing the blue around his lips and hair. The whole picture entirely distinct planes of reality. The bright yellow color of his face is like spotted sunlight, implying the sacred aura surrounding him. Warhol deliberately broke the serious theme with bold and unrestrained hand-painted lines, achieving a kind of fashionable and friendly cordiality in the eyes of the audience, which fascinated the western world who were not familiar with China.

10 years after the completion of Mao series, Warhol went to China in 1982. In that era where few convenient ways of communication were available, many contemporary Chinese artists were deeply inspired by him such as Zeng Fanzhi, Wang Guangyi and Yu Youhan. In Mao , Warhol shows the image of Chairman Mao to the world through his own iconic screen printing technique. He embellishes Mao's features and clothes with saturated and gorgeous colors that completely changes the political meaning of the portrait: for American audiences, it is no longer a threatening Communist propaganda image, but a fashionable and charming new idol in Warhol's popular culture of the 1970s. It opens up different possibilities of contemporary aesthetics.

Price estimate:
HKD: 350,000 – 600,000
USD: 45,100 – 77,400

Auction Result:
HKD: 802,400