Tonight marks the opening of “Lost Then Found,” an exhibition of previously unseen portraits of iconic pop artist Andy Warhol, photographed by British photographer Steve Wood in a French seaside resort of Deauville in 1981. Wood was visiting France for the American Film Festival of Deauville where he was introduced to Warhol. The two embarked on an afternoon photo shoot where Wood brilliantly captured Warhol in such an organic and almost vulnerable state, using whatever props were readily available – a sunflower, the September 1981 issue of Interview Magazine (which Warhol founded in 1969), and the artist’s own purple nylon backpack. It is rare to find photographs of Warhol in such a stripped down manner, as he was typically photographed wearing various wigs and costumes. In sharp contrast, Wood’s photos show Warhol in a lucid and soft light. "He seemed to be quite pleased with the way I looked at the light. I suppose I photograph people the way he himself would like to be photographed: clear and crisp with no veil," Wood quoted.
The photographs were shot on 35 mm film, and the slides were filed away in Wood’s archives for the last 30 years. Upon rediscovering these wonderful portraits, the “Lost Then Found” exhibition was born. The exhibition opens this evening, May 3, in New York’s 345 Meatpacking Building, located at 345 W 14
th St, New York, NY 10014. The exhibit will be open daily from 11 AM – 7 PM through Sunday, May 12.
Visit Lost Then Found's website and
Interview Magazine for more details, follow the exhibition on Twitter
@FoundWarhol and on
Instagram @FoundWarhol.
Photos by Steve Wood.
