Gift Guide: 20+ Best Summer 2021 Gift Ideas

The Art Gallery of Ontario’s (AGO) ongoing exhibition on the art world behemoth known as Andy Warhol is one of the most comprehensive and engaging overviews of the pop art icon.

Starting with Warhol’s nude male drawings in the 1950’s, a large theme that underpins the exhibition is Warhol’s sexuality, which he later explored in projects such as his 1963 avant-garde film, Sleep, which features looped footage of his lover, the poet John Giorno, sleeping, and his embrace of New York City’s transgender community with his painting series, Ladies and Gentlemen, from 1975.

From there, the exhibition features works from every era of Warhol’s extensive career and it’s fascinating to see the number of different mediums that he practiced and how his overall art style evolved through the years.

Highlights from the exhibition, include his famous 100 Campbell’s Soup Cans from 1962, Elvis I and II from 1963/1964, and a pair of Warhol’s experimental installations, including 1966’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable, which felt like a psychedelic trip of film projections, disco balls, and the music of The Velvet Underground, along with 1965-66’s Silver Clouds.

Overall, this is one of the most fascinating of any Warhol exhibitions. You get to know the man behind the art, and you’re able to enjoy some of the most famous 20th century artwork in a new way.