Andy Warhol

Gagosian Gallery, New York

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is much brighter and more vibrant in the original. The catalogue illustration fails to convey the sheen of the diamond dust surface of the composition. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is a tiny brown speck of media adhering to the surface 10cm. in from the centre of the right edge. There are fine tension cracks adjacent to this on the turnover edge and very minor wear in the lower two extreme corner tips. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
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Taking root in the photographs that inspired so many of his works, Andy Warhol was forever intrigued by shadow and the dramatic qualities it held. During a brief, concentrated period in the late 1970s, Warhol was to devote himself to shadows as a subject in their own right. At this time, he had just begun to develop a new silkscreen printing technique involving the use of diamond dust. First presented to him by one of his studio assistants, Rupert Smith, this medium seemed purpose-made for his Pop language. Sparkling and shiny, its inherent qualities refer directly to movie star glamour, high fashion and money. However, the real diamond dust proved too powdery, and did not sparkle enough for Warhol's liking, so Smith ordered pulverised glass from an industrial supply in New Jersey. With this new form of diamond dust he was able to cultivate a technique whereby the dust would adhere to the surface of the canvas in much the same manner as a silkscreened colour, although with a slightly more raised relief surface. This effect allowed Warhol to work with the obvious sharp contrast of light and darkness in the diamond dust in a powerful series of black-on-black and white-on-white Shadow paintings of which the present work is a fine example. Deeply meditative in feel, these are extraordinary abstract paintings which accentuate the surface and colour of the material used.

Although near complete abstraction, Diamond Dust Shadow still retains some of the characteristics of Warhol's icons of Liz, Marilyn or Elvis; it conveys a similar combination of glamour and remoteness that evokes fantasy and the desire for something that can't be possessed or known. Warhol would later return to the subject of shadow in 1981 in his 'Myths' series which included only one real person, the rest being fantasy characters. Warhol presented himself as The Shadow, a mysterious figure with sinister overtones. These qualities can also be attributed to the present work. The Diamond Dust Shadow paintings are regarded as some of the most beautiful and enigmatic of Warhol's abstract works and show him to be a tireless innovator who constantly sought new means of extending his distinctive Pop vocabulary.