(Pittsburgh 1928–1987 New York)
Portrait of Mario Borsato, 1980, signed and dated on the overlap Andy Warhol 1980, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas, 101.6 x 101.6 cm, framed

Provenance:
Mario Borsato Collection, Italy, acquired directly from the artist, New York, 1980

Exhibited:
Berlin, A Homage to Mario Borsato, AB Project Galerie, January 2008

The image is everything and a picture never changes even when the years go by. In the 80’s many members of the social elite commissioned their portraits to Andy Warhol, to celebrate their success or to give to their look a place in the history. For people, as well as products, visibility is celebrity.
The Italian haute couturier Mario Borsato started his career working for more than 20 years with Yves St. Laurent before opening his own atelier. „His haute couture creations fast became very appreciated all over the world. Actress Elisabeth Taylor and Princess Marina di Savoia were his abitual clients. In the 70’s the fashion stylist Gianni Versace introduced Mario Borsato in the art scene of New York and soon the two Italians became the icons of the legendary Studio 54. It was here that Mario Borsato met Andy Warhol.“
„It ‚was very tiring pose for Warhol-remember Mario Borsato-he was never happy with my pose and kept moving my hands and taking pictures by Polaroid. I wanted to wear a suit and tie, but Warhol would not hear!“
At the end, however, ‚Borsato was so happy with the result that he bought two of the four different portraits by Warhol and, for more than 20 years he kept them jealously away from public inside his villa in Veneto.
Only in 2008 Mario Borsato agreed to show his portraits in Germany in the occasion of the exhibition „Homage to Mario Borsato held at AB Project Galerie in Berlin.“

The artist is the creator of beautiful things.
To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.
Oscar Wilde ,from A preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890

Provenance:
Collection Mario Borsato, Italy, acquired directly from the artist, New York, 1980

Exhibited:
Berlin, A Homage to Mario Borsato, AB Project Galerie, January 2008

The image is everything and a picture never changes even when the years go by. In the 80’s many members of the social elite commissioned their portraits to Andy Warhol, to celebrate their success or to give to their look a place in the history. For people, as well as products, visibility is celebrity.
The Italian haute couturier Mario Borsato started his career working for more than 20 years with Yves St. Laurent before opening his own atelier. „His haute couture creations fast became very appreciated all over the world. Actress Elisabeth Taylor and Princess Marina di Savoia were his abitual clients. In the 70’s the fashion stylist Gianni Versace introduced Mario Borsato in the art scene of New York and soon the two Italians became the icons of the legendary Studio 54. It was here that Mario Borsato met Andy Warhol.“
„It ‚was very tiring pose for Warhol-remember Mario Borsato-he was never happy with my pose and kept moving my hands and taking pictures by Polaroid. I wanted to wear a suit and tie, but Warhol would not hear!“
At the end, however, ‚Borsato was so happy with the result that he bought two of the four different portraits by Warhol and, for more than 20 years he kept them jealously away from public inside his villa in Veneto.
Only in 2008 Mario Borsato agreed to show his portraits in Germany in the occasion of the exhibition „Homage to Mario Borsato held at AB Project Galerie in Berlin.“

The artist is the creator of beautiful things.
To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.
Oscar Wilde ,from A preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890