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Andy Warhol, born in Pittsburgh in 1928, became the leading figure of Pop Art by merging avant-garde aesthetics with commercial culture. After graduating in pictorial design from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1949, he moved to New York and became one of the most sought-after commercial illustrators of the 1950s. In the 1960s, he shifted to painting and revolutionized the art world with works like the Campbell's Soup Cans series and the Marilyn Diptych, using silkscreen techniques to explore the intersection of consumerism, celebrity, and artistic expression. Warhol’s silkscreens, sculptures replicating supermarket products, and experimental films like Empire and The Chelsea Girls pushed the boundaries of contemporary art by questioning the nature of fame, media, and mass production.

Warhol’s fascination with celebrity culture and materialism earned him a global reputation and countless commissions from socialites and stars. His work, which both critiqued and embraced the commodification of culture, has influenced generations of artists by blurring the lines between high art and popular culture. His provocative statement that “in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” reflects his deep understanding of media’s role in shaping public perception. Decades after his death in 1987, Warhol remains a towering figure in contemporary art, with his works housed in major museums worldwide, including MoMA, the Whitney Museum, the Centre Pompidou, and Tate Modern.