This winter, the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University invites New Jersey audiences to experience Andy Warhol in a way that challenges assumptions and deepens understanding of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Opening February 11 and running through July 31, 2026, Andy Warhol: On Repeat presents an ambitious and immersive exploration of repetition and duration as defining forces in Warhol’s artistic vision, offering a perspective that moves far beyond his most recognizable pop imagery.
Rather than centering on familiar icons, the exhibition turns its focus to how Warhol used time itself as a medium. By pairing his early durational films with later serial photographs, the show reveals an artist deeply engaged with performance, identity, and the rhythms of American culture. Repetition, in this context, is not redundancy but inquiry, a way of watching meaning shift as images recur and moments stretch longer than expected. The result is a portrait of Warhol as a methodical observer of modern life, fascinated by how people present themselves and how those presentations change under sustained attention.
The exhibition draws heavily from the Zimmerli’s own holdings, showcasing nearly 70 photographs, many of which are being displayed publicly for the first time. These works are complemented by a significant selection of films on loan from The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, creating a dialogue between stillness and motion that underscores the exhibition’s core themes. Together, they form a cohesive narrative that emphasizes Warhol’s interest in seriality, endurance, and the subtle differences that emerge when an image is repeated rather than replaced.
Among the exhibition’s most compelling elements are the iconic Screen Tests, Warhol’s silent, three-minute film portraits of figures drawn from his inner circle and the wider cultural moment. Projected at scale, these films feature individuals such as Edie Sedgwick and Donyale Luna, captured in unguarded moments that oscillate between self-conscious performance and genuine vulnerability. Watching these portraits unfold in real time invites viewers to become acutely aware of their own act of looking, mirroring Warhol’s fascination with observation as both an artistic and social act.
Another centerpiece of the exhibition is Outer and Inner Space from 1966, a multi-screen film installation that immerses visitors in overlapping images and temporal loops. Projected on a large scale, the work creates an environment rather than a single viewing experience, surrounding audiences with repetition that feels both hypnotic and disorienting. It is here that Warhol’s exploration of media saturation and fragmented identity feels especially prescient, resonating strongly in an era defined by constant screens and self-curation.
Adding a contemporary dimension to the exhibition, visitors are invited to participate in an in-gallery interactive experience that allows them to create their own screen tests. This hands-on element bridges Warhol’s era and the present day, encouraging audiences to consider how his ideas about performance and self-presentation continue to echo in today’s image-driven culture.
The Zimmerli Art Museum, located at 71 Hamilton Street in New Brunswick, offers free admission, reinforcing the accessibility of this ambitious project. A series of complementary public programs further extends the exhibition’s reach. An opening reception on Thursday, February 12, 2026, sets the tone for the run, followed by Polaroid workshops in March and April that explore Warhol’s relationship with instant photography. An Art Together family workshop in April invites younger audiences to engage creatively with the exhibition’s themes, emphasizing that Warhol’s ideas remain relevant across generations.
Andy Warhol: On Repeat arrives at a moment when museums are increasingly reexamining canonical figures through more nuanced lenses. By foregrounding time, repetition, and viewer participation, the Zimmerli positions this exhibition as both scholarly and accessible, appealing to longtime Warhol admirers and newcomers alike. It also reinforces New Jersey’s role as a destination for ambitious cultural programming, adding to the state’s broader art and culture landscape with a show that rewards patience, curiosity, and sustained attention.
In presenting Warhol not as a pop provocateur alone but as a rigorous thinker deeply attuned to the mechanics of media and identity, the Zimmerli Art Museum offers one of the most thoughtful Warhol exhibitions to appear in the region in years. For visitors willing to slow down and watch images unfold on their own terms, Andy Warhol: On Repeat delivers an experience that feels both historically grounded and strikingly contemporary, inviting audiences to see repetition not as sameness, but as revelation.
