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Screenprint with diamond dust, 1980, on Arches Aquarelle (Cold Pressed) paper, signed and numbered in pencil, verso, from the edition of 60 (there were also 10 artist’s proofs), printed by Rupert Jason Smith, New York, published by Andy Warhol, New York, 102 x 151 cm. (40 1/4 x 59 1/2 in.)
The monochromatic variation of Warhol’s Shoes is a visually arresting feat. The rare invocation of black on black emphasises the pulverised glass that Warhol used to achieve the sparkling effects and confronts minimalist abstraction with the glamour of consumerism. Women’s shoes were already familiar to Warhol in 1980, as he had been a fashion illustrator at the beginning of his career. Shoes was created after a box of women’s shoes were emptied onto the floor of Warhol’s apartment, from which Warhol found inspiration for Shoes’ haphazard yet meticulous composition.
