Chanel Trial Proof by Andy Warhol

Chanel Trial Proof from the Ads series by Andy Warhol. The Ads Portfolio of prints by Andy Warhol is one of his most sought after and iconic sets of prints. This Andy Warhol portfolio includes images of James Dean and Life Savers. The Ads portfolio is made up of ten screen prints on Lenox Museum Board by Andy Warhol.

In ‘Chanel’ Warhol deploys simple outlines and a limited range of colors to create a bold design. The impact of the piece is heightened by the uncomplicated composition which prevents any interruption or disturbance from other objects or colors. Despite the apparent simplicity of the work, it only emerged after drawings, paintings and trial proofs, thus demonstrating that Warhol strove to render the perfect composition through which he could transmit his political and psychological insights.

The effectiveness of the composition in transmitting Warhol’s meaning is heightened by the medium he choose. The silkscreen print, a mechanical reproductive medium acted as a metaphor for the banality that lurked behind American commercialism. De Salvo writes ‘Warhol explores a reality that exists below the surface of perception. Mechanical, repetitive, ominous, Warhol’s imagery attempts to express the motif forces which underlie the perceivable world.’ As a result of the underlining criticism present in Warhol’s oeuvre, works such as ‘Chanel’ become modern day vanitas images, alerting viewers to their own mortality and the superficiality of consumerism.