Andy Warhol works never seen in UK go on show at major new exhibition

Andy Warhol explored the meeting of art and commerce like no other artist in history.

This may be most clearly expressed in his Ads series, which was created both as a portfolio of prints and as a set of 10 paintings on canvas.

For this body of artworks, Warhol reimagined famous adverts, marketing Apple computers, Volkswagen cars and Chanel No 5 among others, rendering them with vibrant colours and transforming them into powerful works of art.

Both the silkscreen prints and the paintings will be displayed together in the UK for the first time in an exhibition at London’s Halcyon Gallery dedicated to the life and work of the American pop artist and cultural icon.

Open now until 24 March, the exhibition is spread across the gallery’s two Mayfair sites, at 29 and 148 New Bond Street.

Kate Brown, Halcyon Gallery’s creative director and curator of the exhibition, said: “This exhibition is a comprehensive overview of Warhol’s creative life, from his earliest artworks and illustrations to the last works he ever produced.

“Warhol’s seismic contribution to the story of art is that he tied his work to a collective consciousness more closely than any other artist had before. His art is a pure reflection of popular culture in his lifetime and the spirit of western capitalism.”

Many of Warhol’s most famous print portfolios will be on display including Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth II, Mao, Muhammad Ali and the Endangered Species collection, which, says Kate Brown, “is a much-loved portfolio and still very relevant today”.

Other highlights include rarely seen original canvases such as Warhol’s portrait of Pele. This painting was owned by the football legend who was presented it by Warhol himself.

Halcyon Gallery’s smaller exhibition space, at 29 New Bond Street, celebrates Warhol’s enduring Campbell’s Soup Cans, which are accompanied by ephemera that illustrates the extraordinary impact that the artist’s best-known motif has had on culture.

An immersive room in 148 New Bond Street features the much-admired Andy Mouse portfolio by Keith Haring portraying Warhol as Mickey Mouse, swimming in dollar bills and dancing in a nightclub.

These works are a testament to the remarkable influence of Warhol on artists like Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat – as well as the changing face of the New York art scene.

This immersive space takes inspiration from Haring’s Pop Shop to celebrate the convergence of graffiti art and fine art, that took place for the first time in the 80s, and for which Warhol was a crucial driving force.

Andy Warhol: Beyond the Brand will be open at the Halcyon Gallery in London until 24 March