Andy Warhol’s Shadows III Complete Portfolio is part of his larger Shadows series. The full project spans 102 canvases designed to be installed side by side as one continuous work. These obscure forms are each printed in two colors.
This series was originally conceived as room decoration, referring to this multiple-part work as “disco-décor”. The large scale and color Warhol used in this work keep the viewer guessing what the subject might be, without looking at the title. The use of black in most of the prints portrays a dark moody feeling throughout the series. They are big, colorful filmstrip-inspired images that evoke experimental film and the drones of the Velvet Underground. The work is mysterious as the slight variation in shape in each print from the others.
Scale, Installation and Intention
Warhol never saw all 102 panels of the Shadows portfolio installed together. He left them unnumbered and gave no instructions on arrangement. This choice leaves room for play. Each installation creates a new rhythm, offering viewers a fresh experience each time.
Warhol added diamond dust to the surface of the pieces, giving them sparkling effect. This aligned with his “dream” of having the series installed in a disco club like Studio 54. As MOCA director Philippe Vergne put it, the Shadows suites are “the line between the American dream and the American death. They are as dark as they are glamorous.”
The canvasses measure 74 x 52 inches, reinforcing the American ideal of “bigger is better.” Their scale and abstraction suggest commentary on excess, perception, and the ephemeral nature of images.
The complete Shadows print series includes Shadows I (FS II.204-209), Shadows II (FS II.210-215), Shadows III (FS II.216-221), Shadows IV (FS II.222-223) and Shadows V (FS II.224-225).
Shadows III complete portfolio by Andy Warhol as Part of His Larger Body of Work
Warhol’s Shadows III series is a direct continuation of the first and second portfolios as it features similar compositional imagery and color schemes. This portfolio was just one of many that Warhol created from shadowy photographs in his studio. Although Warhol undermined the artistic quality of this series, many viewers felt that the cumulative effect of the numerous prints hung together was powerful and truly something new. This series, created in the last decade of Warhol’s life, marks a shift in Warhol’s artistry from his earlier Pop Artworks of mass-produced objects and glamorous celebrities to this mysterious abstract art that defined his later career
Photo credit:
- Arthur Tress, Andy Warhol, 1979. Image: © Arthur Tress, © Courtesy Dia Art Foundation, New York, Artwork © 2021 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
