Photo Factory Andy Warhol

On Friday evening, 23 September Fotografiska opens an exhibition by Andy Warhol, the king of pop art with a special party. We all know Andy's soup cans, Marylins and Elvises and now we have the opportunity to show a side of Warhol's that has not yet been seen – his rare Polaroids made at the Factory, his studio that hosted parties and the most notable people, such as Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Lou Reed, Mick Jagger, David Bowie and many others.

‍Andy Warhol is one of the most famous artists of the 20th century and his art has been so thoroughly absorbed into the culture that it’s difficult to imagine the shock, consternation, and thrill it once provoked. Warhol was an innovative thinker, a pioneer of his field, who saw the emptiness of contemporary life and successfully express this in his art.Photography held a special place in Warhol's work – although he is best known for his (screen) paintings, most (although not all) of these were based on photographs he used as drafts. Maarja Loorents, the Head of Exhibitions at Fotografiska Tallinn says: "Getting to exhibit Warhol's work here in Tallinn is a small miracle, as our scene and the size of the audience is not comparable to other European capitals. Hard work paid off and we managed to convince the owners of the Warhol collection that exhibiting in Tallinn would be a success. The Tallinn exhibition is exciting because it showcases the photographs by the king of pop art, Andy Warhol that have not been seen widely by the public. A large part of his work were Polaroids and he brought his camera as his "date" everywhere he went. It is a little-known fact that many of his prints are based on the photographs he took – photographs inspired many of his well-known pieces, like the soup cans, the portraits of Marylin Monroe etc.The art collector Jim Hedges, who owns many of the works displayed at the Andy Warhol exhibition at Fotografiska says that Warhol's influence on the art world has been extensive: "There is probably no other artist in the second half of the 20th century more significant than Andy Warhol. His work is equal to Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse and even the old masters. I dare to say that Warhol has influenced all the following generations of artists. You can’t fully understand contemporary masters like Christopher Wool, Jack Pierson, Elizabeth Peyton, Tracey Emin and other artists of their stature without recognising Warhol's influence.“The exhibition "Photo Factory" consists of 4 films and over 120 images, 20 of which have never been publicly shown before. The exhibition is a homage to Warhol's iconic New York studio, the Factory and offers an intimate look into the artist's life and his visual diary.