“Warhol was the opposite of a conceptual artist in many ways, dyslexic to the point of illiteracy, but the former adman knew the most powerful images were the ones that did not think.”

Fabrik Contemporary Art is pleased to present a group of works by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jeff Koons. The exhibition will explore the various ways that these artists since the 1980s have engaged with mass media and cultivated artistic personas creating their own signature ‘brands’.

It is with Warhol that the most radical lesson is reflected in the work of artists of subsequent generations who, rather than simply representing or commenting upon our mass media culture, have infiltrated the publicity machine and the marketplace as a deliberate strategy. Harnessing the power of the celebrity system and expanding their reach beyond the art world and into the wider world of commerce, these artists exploit channels that engage audiences both inside and outside the gallery. The conflation of culture and commerce is typically seen as a betrayal of the values associated with modern art; for many artists working after Warhol, to cross this line is to engage with modern life on its own terms.