AISHONANZUKA is pleased to present “Warhol Flower Icons,” a solo exhibition of works by Ryan McGinness. This is a tandem show held at EchoOneNanzuka in Bangkok, and at AISHONANZUKA in Hong Kong.
Ryan McGinness (born 1972) is an American artist, living and working in Manhattan, New York. McGinness is known for his original extensive vocabulary of graphic drawings that use the visual language of public signage, corporate logos, and contemporary iconography. His work is shown globally and is housed in the permanent public collections of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art(New York) Museum of Modern Art（New York, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), Museum of Contemporary Art (San Diego), and the UBS Collection among others.
For this exhibition McGinness had studied Andy Warhol’s Flower series, and engaged himself in the challenge of reinterpreting the work through his own style. McGiness gathered vast amounts of materials and references that remain with regards to Warhol’s Flower, thus thoroughly researching its various aspects such as the intent of its production, manner of composition, and methodology behind the use and selection of colors. Artists studying and referencing other artists of the past is rather an act of tradition within the context of art. Nevertheless, McGinness does not simply imitate a single specific work, but on the other hand attempts to create a reproduction of Warhol’s Flower series that comprises an extensive 900 works, by adhering perfectly to their original size and number.
Such incentive is a result of McGiness discerning a curious connection between himself and the life of Warhol including, 1) the way in which his own work is often explained in reference to Warhol’s work, despite there being no strong awareness on his part; 2) the fact that he is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University like Warhol; and 3) his past experience of working at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. McGiness further states how Flower is the most misinterpreted amongst all of Warhol’s various works, and is a series whose significance is often forgotten or overlooked.
The two exhibitions respectively trace and reproduce the installations that Warhol had presented, featuring a selection of 163 works in BKK and 285 works in HK, all of which are on the same size canvas that Warhol had used, measuring 5 inches x 5 inches, and 48 inches x 48 inches.
Ryan McGinness himself will travel to both BKK and HK to attend the opening reception of both exhibitions.
