Growing up in the 1930s, Andy Warhol was fascinated by Classical Hollywood movie stars. They were mesmerizing objects of fantasy representing a larger-than-life glamour far removed from the industrial Pittsburgh of his childhood. The exhibition Andy Warhol: Stars of the Silver Screen traces the artist’s journey from a young boy collecting movie star autographs to his status as insider, documenting and creating portraits of the rich and famous from among their ranks in the 1970s and 80s. The exhibition juxtaposes Warhol’s copious collections of Hollywood memorabilia with his own artwork, including drawings, silkscreens, Polaroids, film, video, and TV. His consumption of star images was matched by his voracious productivity: at the Factory he invented a parallel Hollywood – and with it a shadow America – where Hollywood’s paradigms and star images, narratives and gossip were appropriated and transformed, and compelling “beauties” and “talkers” christened as Superstars.

Photography by Tom Arban