From his first steps in Manhattan, to becoming the Pope of Pop Art, hear about Warhol’s artistic pursuits drawn from first-hand accounts and years of research Kiedrowski gathered over the last decade. Let Thomas take you through a journey to find out how Andy Warhol helped to build up the mystique around the city that never sleeps. Moderated by Diana Martinez, Director, McAninch Arts Center.

Reading an excerpt from her essay, The Personal and Political in Basquiat and Warhol’s Ten Punching Bags, for the Basquiat x Warhol. Painting Four Hands, at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Jessica Beck will speak about the collaborations that Warhol and Basquiat created in the 1980s.

Joseph Freeman worked alongside Warhol for several years and will share an inside perspective of who this legendary artist was. Freeman will take us behind the scenes into the world of Warhol’s famous studio, The Silver Factory, and into Warhol’s home life.

Justin Witte will discuss how Andy Warhol’s experience as an outsider propelled him to become one of the most famous American artists to have lived. This talk will focus on his early work as an illustrator through his later work that has undergone major critical reevaluation

Eric Shiner will give insight into who Andy Warhol really was, from humble beginnings as a first-generation immigrant to superstar icon. Over the course of a prominent and prolific career, Andy Warhol practiced his religious faith which has been largely excluded in historic accounts. Warhol also faced challenges as a gay man and a believing Christian whose identity in American society was made complicated.

Warhol biographer Blake Gopnik conducted extensive research to create an in-depth look into Andy Warhol from historical to social to artistic perspectives. Gopnik gives us the clearest documentation to date of a mysterious man and an artist who constantly avoided definition, and whose work continues to impact our art and culture today.