No wallflower when it comes to wallcoverings, Brooklyn-based Flavor Paper’s game-changing approach to wallpaper has resulted in a portfolio of bold, artistic prints and patterns. And, it’s this irreverent take that drew the attention of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which is collaborating with the company on a collection of wallpapers, each an inspired remix of the artist’s own works. Flavor Paper brings 10 years of experience producing outrageous prints in vivid colours and adventurous compositions, along with metallic grounds, glitter-bombed accents, and even scratch-and-sniff scents to the partnership. The Andy Warhol x Flavor Paper Collection includes nine interpretations of Warhol works – some iconic and others handpicked from deep in the artist’s archives.
Destiny may have had a hand in this collaboration. After all, Warhol was preoccupied with art filling space and covering walls, which ultimately led to his creation of Cow wallpaper displayed as part of his iconic 1966 exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery in Manhattan. He produced seven subsequent wallpaper designs over the next 20 years. He famously used a silkscreen printing technique, which Flavor Paper also employs to create its bespoke wallpapers. And, Flavor Paper is as passionate as Warhol was about bringing art outside of the frame, using the breadth of a wall as a canvas.
The Andy Warhol Foundation, which maintains a highly selective partnership and licensing approval process, became aware of Flavor Paper in 2011, when the company worked with the Montclair (New Jersey) Art Museum to create Twelve Cars wallpaper for a “Warhol and Cars: American Icons” exhibit. The design was based on Warhol’s popular 1962 painting featuring a Cadillac.
“We walked through Flavor Paper’s door, and knew that we had found the right fit,” says Michael Hermann, director of Licensing for the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts “The Foundation’s aim is to select partners who understand Warhol’s creative vision, and execute it in fresh, exciting ways that remain authentic. We always saw licensing wallpaper as a compelling and complementary category, but until Flavor Paper had not found a collaborator who understood how to break through the constraints of such a traditional medium.”
Says Jon Sherman, Flavor Paper founder and creative director, “We are so humbled by the opportunity to collaborate with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts. Working with its team to celebrate and interpret Warhol’s work in our own inimitable style is a milestone for the brand. And, as a true Warhol enthusiast, this opportunity for me personally is like a fantasy fulfilled.”
Sherman was granted access to use all of Warhol’s works, with the exception of five that are represented by the artist’s own wallpapers. He and his team selected a range of images, from paintings to silkscreen prints to film stills, as inspiration for the collection. Each of the designs is a remix in its own right, revved up with classic Flavor Paper pop.
THE NINE STYLES OF THE ANDY WARHOL X FLAVOR PAPER COLLECTION
FLOWERS “My favorite smell is the first smell of spring in NY” – Andy Warhol. Flowers is a repeating pattern created from Warhol’s original silkscreen based on a 1964 photograph of hibiscus blooms. The pattern personifies the artist’s unique juxtaposition of raw and refined elements with spontaneous strands of grass and big, beautiful blooms. The original work was actually applied as a repeat motif on a range of canvas sizes to cover an entire wall. So, it’s fitting for Flavor Paper to take it one step further by giving it a full coverage treatment. The lineup comes alive with striking hand printed colourways including Suave (black flowers and a metallic taupe on a platinum ground), Miami Spice (sparkly yellow-gold, blush, taupe, and citrine flowers, and champagne grass with a coral background), Golden Shower (pink, orange and citrine blend with yellow sprayed petals, with white grass and a black background), and Carolina (periwinkle flowers, bright green grass with a dark blue background). All have a metallic edge; some sparkle with a diamond dust-esque glitter. Golden Shower is a constantly varying blend print with a toner spray added, so no two versions will ever be exactly the same, making each print a unique work of art. Custom colourways are available and encouraged.
SMALL FLOWERS Small Flowers is a digitally printed, pre-trimmed, pre-pasted eco-friendly wallpaper that is easily installed and removed with water. This tribute to Warhol’s production of flowers in a number of sizes is available in four colourways: Blanc (white flowers and verdant grass), Lolite (purple, green and blue flowers paired with blue-green grass), Garnet (red blooms on a black-and-white background), and Full Spectrum (a rainbow of flowers bursting on a black and white ground).
THE LAST SUPPER “Heaven and Hell are just one breath away!” – Andy Warhol. A devout Catholic, Warhol attended church every Sunday and worked on this Leonardo DaVinci appropriation passionately. The juxtaposition of The Last Supper print with a camouflage background and metallic details makes the ultimate Pop Art statement. Flavor Paper serves up a digitally printed mural version in addition to the smaller hand screen printed repeat version. Oh, and if you really want to see Jesus, place the paper under a black light (another Flavor Paper special effect). The mural is available in Color Block Pale, Color Block Pop, Jordans Camo, and Orchard Camo. The hand-screen printed offering comes in Striking Blue (shiny bright blue on silver ponyskin foil), Pearl Gold (shimmering gold and matte beige), Lenten Apricot (camo composition of coral, cantaloupe, blush, beige, and a transparent violet Last Supper), and Orchard (camo pattern popping with tangerine, rust, and light blue, with transparent black Last Supper on shiny gold).
RORSCHACH “I’m afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning” – Andy Warhol. Rorschach was born of Warhol’s 1984 inkblot paintings, inspired by the 1920’s Swiss psychological tests used to study personality traits. While each of the artist’s 38 massive artworks were free from decoration, Flavor Paper has employed damask and wreath detailing for a mind-bending twist on traditional. ColoUrways include Squid Ink (matte blue black on a gloss black background), Storm (deep warm blue on a textural gold ponyskin foil), Golden Peach (peachy gold on a linen paper), and Licorice (matte black on a shiny off white field).
SHOES “I decided that being a shoe salesman is a really sexy job” – Andy Warhol. This pumped-up print pays homage to Warhol’s fondness for footwear, a common theme in his work. Flavor Paper utilized the original Polaroids Warhol used for his shoe paintings and reworked the arrangements into a repeating pattern to emphasize the exquisite shape of the muse. Four hand-screened colourways make up this design: Blue Suede (aqua, bright blue and blue black on a gold ponyskin foil), Drella (a custom cosmetics glitter blend that closely resembles Andy’s diamond dust), Champagne Sparkle (all over rose gold that pops with tonal sparkles), and Gemstone (mirror finish chrome, hot pink, purple, and aqua on a black background). Custom colourways are available.
CAMOUFLAGE “Isn’t life just a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?” – Andy Warhol. Warhol’s Camouflage series is the personification of his primary philosophy: survival depends on seeing without being seen. Flavor Paper selected camo for the collection to create a surface treatment that dually tricks and treats the eye, with Day-glo colors and a salting of sparkle. Available colourways including Mossy Field (lime, jade and sparkly moss and a shiny chrome back
drop), Jordans (red, graphite and silver on a matte gray field), Poppy Field (fluorescent pink, raspberry and glittery magenta on a copper ground), and Apricot (coral, cantaloupe and pink on a matte rose gold background) are anything but standard military-issue.
EMPIRE “The Empire State Building is a star!” – Andy Warhol. In 1964, Warhol filmed the Empire State Building for six hours to produce Empire. Flavor Paper’s Empire wallpaper uses one still image from the film to create a 12-foot-high, two-panel mural. Panels interlock and interchange at a set height allowing the building to be positioned at will within the context of the clouded skyline. Serial repetition – a technique Warhol employed liberally – is also a possibility. Empire comes in four designer colours including Hot Coral, Indigo, Kravitz Gold, and Licorice.
DO IT YOURSELF (LANDSCAPE AND SAILBOATS) “I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art anybody could ever want to own” – Andy Warhol. Do It Yourself Landscape and Sailboat are two mural options that capture the essence of Warhol’s 1962 series of five paint-by-number paintings. A playful spin on Warhol’s original numbering and coloring concept, these designs yield a unique unfinished aesthetic. Each mural is scaled to fit wall dimensions. Both versions are available as eco-friendly digital prints.
CROWD (WHERE’S WARHOL?) “Black is my favorite colour and white is my favorite colour” – Andy Warhol. Originally a 1963 silkscreen print based on a 1955 photograph of St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Easter Sunday, Flavor Paper has given Crowd a textural treatment to create a natural, tree canopy effect from afar, and a sense of intimacy from up close. To add its own signature tongue-in-cheek character, Flavor Paper inserted an image of Warhol shot on the set of his 1996 underground film Chelsea Girls. This playful move gives the whole design a very subtle “Where’s Waldo?” effect as you search for the artist in a striped T-shirt. The pattern is available in four standard colourways, including Aurora Pink, Graphite, Licorice and Sepia. Custom colorways are available.
QUEEN ELIZABETH “My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person” – Andy Warhol. Queen Elizabeth gives the artist’s 1985 Reigning Queens the royal treatment. It’s based on a formal photograph of Queen Elizabeth II sporting a tiara during her 1977 Silver Jubilee celebrations, and curtsies to Warhol’s use of a repeating motif in his artwork. The half-drop treatment is available only on pre-trimmed and pre-pasted eco-friendly material for easy installation and removal, and comes in Teal, Deep Purple, Red, and Neon Gray options.
ABOUT FLAVOR PAPER
Flavor lavor Paper is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Founder and creative director Jon Sherman’s original New Orleans start-up and the subsequent development of the Flavor Paper manufacturing facility on Pacific Street in Brooklyn has successfully wallpapered millions of square feet around the globe. Flavor Paper continues to collaborate with Tibi fashion house, Kravitz Design and Milton Glaser. Clients at the firm span from the architectural IAC Building by Frank Gehry in New York, to sports brand Nike, fashion retailer Steve Madden, the international W Hotels and more. For more info, visit www.flavorpaper.com
ABOUT THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS
As the preeminent American artist of the 20th century, Andy Warhol challenged the world to see art differently. Since its founding in 1987 in accordance with Andy Warhol’s will, the Andy Warhol Foundation has established itself as among the leading funders of contemporary art in the United States having distributed nearly $250,000,000 in grants. The foundation’s ongoing efforts to protect and enhance its founder’s creative legacy ensure that Warhol’s inventive, open-minded spirit will have a profound impact on the visual arts for generations to come. For more info, visit www.warholfoundation.org
