Powers Art Center to open Andy Warhol show concurrent with Aspen Art Museum exhibition

The Powers Art Center in Carbondale will open an exhibit of Andy Warhol portraits and portfolios from the artist’s “Marilyn” and “Flowers” series.

It will run from Nov. 30 through April 2022, running concurrently with the recently announced Aspen Art Museum show “Andy Warhol: Lifetimes” running Dec. 3 to March 2022.

The exhibition is comprised of works from The John and Kimiko Powers Collection, now under the stewardship of the Ryobi Foundation.

John and Kimiko Powers first met Warhol in New York before the artist was well-known, according to the Powers Art Center announcement. John was impressed to see that Warhol was working without an assistant, and he decided to commission the artist to make a portrait of his wife. From then onward, Warhol and the couple became good friends. John and Kimiko visited the artist at the Factory and joined him for dinner regularly while they lived in New York.

John Powers later invited Warhol to present his work at the Aspen Institute as part of the Aspen Center for Contemporary Art, an artists-in-residence program. Warhol became a frequent visitor to Colorado, enjoying the lively scene in Aspen and dinners in Carbondale with John and Kimiko Powers.

This exhibit will highlight the unique relationship between the artist and the collector, representing Warhol’s classic works on paper as well as various unique pieces not previously shown at the Powers Art Center. Many works will focus on the friendship between artist and collector.

Although Warhol made portraits of a number of celebrated women by 1972, Kimiko Powers was one of the first commissioned portraits the artist completed, according to the Powers Center announcement.

“Warhol especially loved Kimiko and was taken by her classic Japanese style, which inspired him to create over twenty-five portraits of her in his iconic style,” Powers Art Center director Melissa English said.

In addition to the exhibit, the art center will host “15 Minutes of Fame,” an immersive and creative experience. Guests of all ages will have the opportunity to create their own portrait from a polaroid in the style of Warhol.

In addition to the Warhol exhibit, Powers Art Center will feature a Jasper Johns retrospective of limited edition works on paper, celebrating the artist’s 91st birthday, from the Powers Art Center’s permanent collection.