Former Andy Warhol Museum director Eric Shiner will share insights into the artist's life

The Cleve Carney Museum of Art at the McAninch Arts Center on the College of DuPage campus is presenting a series of on-site lectures and discussions by internationally acclaimed Andy Warhol experts in conjunction with the multi-faceted exhibition, "WARHOL," on view through Sept. 10.

Former director of the Andy Warhol Museum, Eric Shiner continues the programming at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 27, with a lecture titled "The American Dream," which provides key insight into Andy Warhol's life, including his challenges as a gay man and practicing Christian.

Shiner will provide insight into who Warhol really was, from humble beginnings as a first-generation immigrant to becoming "The King of Pop Art."

Over the course of a prominent and prolific career, Warhol practiced his religious faith which has been largely excluded in historic accounts. Warhol also faced challenges as a gay man and a believing Christian whose identity in American society was made complicated. Shiner will delve deeper into these topics during the lecture.

Shiner, a fixture in the art world for several decades, served as director of The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2016, and as a curator there beginning in 2008. Shiner has curated dozens of contemporary art exhibitions in cities around the globe and was the team leader on The Warhol Museum's major Warhol retrospective that traveled to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo between 2012 and 2014.

Following that, he was a senior vice president at Sotheby's until 2018, where he worked in private sales. He holds two master's degrees in art history from Osaka University and Yale.

Tickets to Eric Shiner: "The American Dream" are $10, but free to anyone who has purchased a ticket to the "WARHOL" exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. Tickets may be purchased online at Warhol2023.org or by calling the MAC box office at (630) 942-4000.

In total, more than 200 original Warhol works are on display through Sept. 10 at "WARHOL" including 94 works from "Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop | Works from the Bank of America Collection" on loan through Bank of America's Art in our Communities program, and a collection of more 150 Warhol photographs and original works from the College of DuPage's Permanent Art Collection.

Visitors can experience Andy Warhol's life through interactive exhibits, recreations and videos created exclusively for this exhibition including a historical exhibit, Kids Pop Art Print Factory, Studio 54 Experience, Central Park-inspired outdoor area, Silver Clouds installation and more. For more information, event updates and reservations, visit Warhol2023.org.