Chris Evert 1977

Andy Warhol made this screenprint of Chris Evert, and the palette is just fantastic, playing with how we see celebrity, colour, and image making. It's a real dance, seeing how marks and shades can build an image. The texture is so interesting – that flat, slightly chalky background contrasting with those vibrant yellow swathes that slice right through Evert's face. It's like he's saying, "Here's the icon, but let's not forget this is also just ink on paper". Look at how the black is laid down for the hair and tennis racket, it's almost like a stencil, rough around the edges, giving it a real handmade feel despite the mechanical process. Warhol always has something to say about surface and depth, maybe here he's asking how well we really know a public figure? He does this also in his images of Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor, he's like a modern day court painter, reflecting on celebrity. I’m always fascinated by how art can ask more questions than it answers.