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Until 15 February 2026, Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo hosts the exhibition Andy Warhol – Serial Portraits. This is no random selection. The exhibition is part of the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s curatorial programme, which presents previously unseen works from its Parisian collection in the brand’s international spaces. This time, the focus is on a theme that was absolutely pivotal for Warhol: the portrait.
Andy Warhol was, of course, far more than just a painter. He was a director, producer, magazine editor, and, above all, a master of self-presentation. He understood that in the mass media age, the artist’s image was just as important as their work. Perhaps it was the work.
Portraiture was an obsession for him. From his student days, he sketched those around him, celebrities, and New York high society. His work became a collective portrait of an entire era. Yet, the focal point of this fascination was always himself.
Warhol quickly learned the importance of being “presented correctly.” He adopted a wig and dark glasses, created an enigmatic persona, and relished crafting numerous “alter egos.” The Tokyo exhibition brilliantly showcases this obsession with his own image—from famous self-portraits to lesser-known “in drag” Polaroids, where he explored the boundaries of identity and image manipulation.
The exhibition offers a fascinating journey through Warhol’s practice. It begins with rarely seen, almost intimate 1950s drawings of young men, sketched in simple ballpoint pen. They reveal his expressive hand and brilliant draughtsmanship from a time before screen-printing dominated his work.
It was precisely this technique that later allowed him to shift from personal drawing to the mechanised, serial production that mimicked the aesthetics of advertising and consumer culture. The exhibition traces this transformation, moving from the photo-booth Self-Portrait (1963–64) to more enigmatic pieces like The Shadow (1981) and the Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century series.
