Lenin 1986

Andy Warhol made this portrait of Lenin, and, as usual, there’s a sense of repetition and almost mechanical reproduction in the way it’s put together with its bold blocks of colour. I find that this kind of work is a reminder that art-making is always a process of choices; what to repeat, what to leave out, how to make something personal out of something that looks impersonal. Looking at the surface, you can see how the red is almost like a ground, a foundation, with the yellow and blue layered on top. Notice how the blue outline of Lenin’s face and beard isn’t quite perfect, it bleeds, creating this hazy effect, as if the image is not quite set in stone, as if the image is still in the process of becoming. Warhol reminds me a lot of Sigmar Polke, in that he treats the image as a kind of found object. Both artists see the humour, the strangeness, and, yes, the art, in things that others might overlook. Art isn't about answers, it’s about keeping the conversation going, and that’s what I see here.