In 2013 the University of Alabama at Birmingham received six large-scale screen prints from the estate of Andy Warhol, including Electric Chair and Vote McGovern. From January 9 through February 28, these works will be joined by three additional screen prints and 90 photographic prints drawn from the museum’s own collection. Together with loans from private collectors, the Andy Warhol Museum, Booth Western Art Museum, and the Birmingham Museum of Art, the works will be featured in Warhol: Fabricated, an exhibition presented by the University of Alabama’s College of Arts and Sciences through the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA).
Curated by John Fields, MFA, the exhibition highlights iconic images such as Marilyn, Mick Jagger, Red Lenin, and Sitting Bull, as well as Warhol wallpapers, silver gelatin prints, and several prints that have not previously been displayed. The show also includes a photographic portrait of Warhol by noted documentary photographer Bob Adelman, who was recently named photography advisor to the Library of Congress. Adelman is recognized for his photographic documentation of the Civil Rights movement and the New York art scene of the 1960s. An opening reception will be held on January 9 from 6–8 p.m. at AEIVA.
Warhol: Fabricated offers visitors an opportunity to see a broad cross-section of Warhol’s practice, from his celebrated celebrity portraits to experimental prints and photographic works. The installation emphasizes the artist’s techniques in screen printing and photography while providing context about the networks of collectors, museums, and estates that preserve and circulate his work. The inclusion of lesser-known and never-before-exhibited prints broadens the narrative around Warhol’s ongoing influence on contemporary art.
Visitors can expect to encounter varied formats and media across the galleries: hand-pulled screen prints showcasing Warhol’s bold use of color and repetition, wallpaper designs that reflect his interest in commercial aesthetics, and silver gelatin photographs that capture both intimate and public facets of the era he helped define. The exhibit’s selection underscores how Warhol blurred boundaries between high and low culture, transforming mass-produced imagery into fine art.
AEIVA’s presentation of Warhol: Fabricated also reflects scholarly and curatorial efforts to foreground provenance and conservation. Works on loan from multiple institutions and private collections highlight collaborative exhibition practices, while the presence of prints from UAB’s own holdings demonstrates the university museum’s capacity to steward significant modern and contemporary works. The show will be of interest to students, researchers, and the general public alike, offering educational programming and opportunities for close study of Warhol’s methods and materials.
The exhibition’s run from January 9 to February 28 creates an accessible window to engage with Warhol’s legacy in Birmingham. The opening reception on January 9 provides a chance for the public to view the installation alongside curatorial commentary and community members. Whether encountering familiar images or newly revealed prints, visitors will gain a fuller appreciation of Andy Warhol’s visual language and the cultural forces that shaped his work.