Andy Warhol, The Textiles

Andy Warhol, The Textiles reveals a lesser-known side of Andy Warhol and is on view in the Netherlands for the very first time. Before gaining worldwide fame as a pioneer of Pop Art, Warhol designed playful and experimental textiles for fashion and interiors during the 1950s. Through repetition, bold lines and exuberant motifs–ranging from ice cream sundaes and toffee apples to colourful buttons, sliced lemons, pretzels and leaping clowns–he explored what happens when images are multiplied, worn and woven into everyday life. 

Rather than distancing himself from the commercial world, Warhol actively embraced collaboration with industry during this period. His textiles bring art and everyday use closer together, showing how creativity, fashion and mass production could meet in surprising and convincing ways. 

Set against the optimistic, rapidly changing atmosphere of the 1950s and 1960s, the exhibition offers a fresh perspective on Warhol’s artistic development.
Andy Warhol, The Textiles demonstrates how these seemingly light, joyful designs formed an essential step toward the iconic visual language that would later redefine the art world.

The exhibition includes over 60 of Warhol’s textile patterns from the 1950s and early 1960s. Some of the most important manufacturers in American textile history are also represented, including Stehli Silks, Fuller Fabrics Inc., and M. Lowenstein and Sons.

Andy Warhol, The Textiles is organised in association with the Fashion and Textile Museum in London.