Paige Powell Didn't Just Document Warhol's Inner Circle. She Shaped It, Too

"I just took photographs, but I wasn't obsessed. It was Andy who encouraged me. I was in my environment with all these different artists. They were just my friends. So it didn't have a purpose. But basically, Andy was so comfortable with me and my camera—it was just a part of my body. It was like a limb or something."

"Powell's new exhibition, 'Private Andy: Religious Services,' is on view at Jeffrey Deitch in Los Angeles until April 4. It's comprised of a 1986 series of Warhol volunteering at a Bronx church to serve meals to the homeless during the holidays, alongside a series of accidental double exposures made during a 10-day period in February 1987."

"The intimate shots capture Warhol's final days while echoing many of his enduring themes: spirituality, chance, devotion, and the strange overlap of life and death. A film component—a collaboration with EarthCam and the Andy Warhol Museum—links the gallery to a live feed of Andy Warhol's grave in Pittsburgh."

Paige Powell worked at Interview magazine and became one of Andy Warhol's closest confidantes during his final years, documenting the 1980s New York art scene through photography. Warhol encouraged her to photograph constantly, and her camera became an extension of herself. Her new exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch features a 1986 series of Warhol volunteering at a Bronx church serving meals to homeless people, alongside accidental double exposures from February 1987 showing fashion shows, Warhol modeling, and his funeral. The images explore themes of spirituality, chance, devotion, and the intersection of life and death. A film component provides a live feed of Warhol's grave in Pittsburgh, which Powell believes Warhol would have appreciated.

Read at Artnet News