Andy Warhol: Pop Art!

The Museu de Arte Brasileira of the Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (MAB FAAP), in São Paulo, proudly presents Andy Warhol: Pop Art!, a landmark exhibition featuring over 600 works by the American artist—making it the most comprehensive Warhol retrospective ever mounted outside the United States. 

Curated by Amber Morgan, Director of Collections at The Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), in collaboration with Brazilian curator Priscyla Gomes, the exhibition brings together an extraordinary selection of drawings, paintings, silkscreens, sculptures, photographs, films, a large-scale installations and documents. Most of the works—on loan from The Andy Warhol Museum—are being shown in Brazil for the first time, many of which are leaving the museum’s galleries for the first time in decades. 

Occupying over 2,000 square meters of Museum’s gallery space, the exhibition features iconic series such as Campbell’s Soup Cans, Elvis, Marilyn, Mao, and portraits of Michael Jackson and Pelé—highlighting Warhol’s fascination with celebrity, consumer culture, and mass media, and experimentations as in oxidations paintings. The exhibition traces Warhol’s career from his early commercial illustrations and graphic design work to his iconic Factory-era pieces and later, more introspective productions. 

Organized by Instituto Totex in partnership with MAB FAAP, Andy Warhol: Pop Art! incorporates extensive accessibility measures, including audio description, captioning, and physical infrastructure to ensure inclusive access.  

A continuing education program for the team of educators who will facilitate the exhibition was designed by the Museum Director, Dr. Marcos Moraes, in collaboration with faculty members from FAAP's visual arts programs and with the participation of students from these programs. This initiative aims to coordinate actions that unite the art school, the museum, and the community for whom these activities are primarily intended. 

As part of its mission to democratize access to the arts, the museum will distribute 5,000 complimentary tickets to public school students. Additionally, free teacher training sessions and pedagogical materials tailored to different age groups will be made available. 

The presence of Andy Warhol and an exhibition of this scale joins a legacy of artists and curatorial projects that have, since the museum’s founding in 1961, established MAB FAAP as a vital stage for significant and impactful exhibitions across a wide range of Brazilian cultural contexts. This legacy reinforces the institution’s role in the dissemination of art and culture and reflects the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to fostering, supporting, and promoting the arts. 

“This exhibition embodies FAAP’s commitment to fostering cultural dialogue and expanding public access to significant artistic voices”, says Celita Procopio de Carvalho, President of FAAP’s Board of Trustees. “Hosting this unprecedented Warhol retrospective reaffirms our role as a bridge between local audiences and the global art community.” 

About Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado and the Museu de Arte Brasileira (MAB FAAP) 
The Museu de Arte Brasileira – MAB FAAP holds a collection of more than 3,500 works of Brazilian art, including major figures of modernism such as Anita Malfatti, Candido Portinari, Di Cavalcanti, Tarsila do Amaral, and Victor Brecheret. The collection also includes key contributions by artists such as Abraham Palatnik, Almir Mavignier, Anna Maria Maiolino, Lygia Clark, Lydia Okumura, Wesley Duke Lee, and, more recently, Alex Cerveny, Mira Schendel, Sandra Cinto, Thiago Honório, and Vânia Mignone. 

Over the decades, the museum has hosted a wide range of significant national and international exhibitions. Highlights include Propostas 65 (1965), Objeto na Arte Brasil Anos 60 (1978), and Arteônica—curated by Waldemar Cordeiro—as well as Arte – Novos Meios / Multimeios Brasil 70–80 (1985). In more recent years, notable exhibitions include Legacy of the Czars (2005), Works from the Pergamon Museum of Berlin (2006), The Years of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco (2011), and The Salvador Dalí Challenge (2024). 

The Museum is currently preparing an exhibition featuring works incorporated into its holdings, sourced from the production of artists participating in the Residência Artística FAAP – São Paulo. This residency program will celebrate its 20th anniversary in September, during which the museum will also host the Res Artis Conference São Paulo 2025, organized by FAAP and Res Artis.