Andy Warhol popularized the Pop Art style in the 1960s with screen-print paintings of movie stars like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. He also took items from everyday life, like a Campbell’s soup can, as the foundation for a work of art. Warhol gleaned inspiration from pop culture and the world around him before immortalizing the imagery through his bright and colorful creations.
Longshore’s pieces like “Audrey Hepburn Cutout with Swarming Monarchs and Black Background” and “The Bend and Snap is a Hoax” showcase qualities like those of Warhol and the original Pop Art movement. Images of powerhouse female figures, donuts, musicians, and meme-like phases are plastered across the canvases often with rhinestones or painted jewel embellishments. Like Warhol, Longshore takes observations from her world, layers them with her perceptions and adds plenty of flash to produce her art.
Both Warhol and Longshore use(d) art as a platform for a larger message. Though fun regardless of the message, themes of celebrity and consumerism are always prevalent. Longshore’s paintings like those of Elizabeth Taylor or memes referencing the Rockefellers, Bergdorf Goodman’s or diamonds celebrate the consumer culture with candy-colored brush strokes and cheeky humor.
"Elizabeth Taylor with Caged Canary"
This self-taught artist is talented with her creations, as well as her business skills. Not only does Longshore blaze her own path in art making, she also does in the way she sells her work. Her business platform has included a solo show with Bergdorf Goodman’s and Instagram, where she sold over $1 million worth of products on the social media site. She doesn’t limit herself to a single title, but embraces the ability to be an artist, entrepreneur, author and trail blazer.
"Oprah Winfrey"
The colors and tone found in Longshore’s works offer the perfect color palette and spirited worldview for the summer season (or any season for that matter!). Scrolling through her Instagram feed, browsing her portfolio or investing in a piece for your own collection, you’re sure to get a dose of summer pop laced with modern feminism.
Resources for further reading:
Forbes “Lil Wayne Paintings and Profanity: How Ashley Longshore Sold $1.3 Million of Art in Under 2 Hours”
