He pissed on paintings and filed garbage, the bizarre genius of Warhol, whose works are right here in Opatija!

On August 6th, the world celebrates the birthday of Andy Warhol, whose iconic works are currently on display in Opatija as part of the “POP ART, Collection Infeld” exhibition at the Juraj Šporer Art Pavilion. The exhibition brings a slice of New York’s avant-garde and glamour to the Kvarner region, showcasing forty-two original pieces from ten of the movement's most prominent figures. Among them, Warhol’s work stands out with its unmistakable power. His legendary portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jagger serve as symbols of mass culture woven into collective consciousness, reminding visitors why Warhol remains an undisputed king of pop art today. The exhibition features artworks sourced from one of Austria’s largest private collections, initiated by Peter Infeld and his mother Margaretha in the mid-1960s. The tradition continues today through Zdenka Infeld, who maintains the collection with equal dedication. The show offers a glimpse into the glittering surface of Warhol’s world, yet beneath lies a far more complex, bizarre, and provocative reality. While polished silkscreens of celebrities hang on gallery walls, some of Warhol’s most experimental works were created through unconventional, even scandalous methods. Between 1977 and 1978, in his famed studio “The Factory,” he produced a series of abstract paintings known as “Oxidation Paintings,” colloquially referred to as “Piss Paintings.” The process was exactly as the name suggests. Warhol would cover large canvases with copper-based paint, and then, often under the influence of alcohol, himself, his assistants, and visitors to the studio would urinate onto the surfaces. This act, seemingly vulgar and offensive, was actually a controlled chemical and artistic experiment. The uric acid reacted with the metal in the paint, creating unpredictable, sparkling patterns of abstract shapes and stains in shades of green, brown, and gold. Far from mere provocation, these “Piss Paintings” represented Warhol’s cynical yet brilliant commentary on the art scene of the time, particularly on Abstract Expressionism and Jackson Pollock’s heroic, brush-stroke-driven style. By using bodily excretion, something discarded and unclean, he transformed it into a tool for creating beauty while simultaneously challenging notions of the sanctity of the artistic act. The fascination with this process endures today. The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh recently launched an extensive conservation project, aided by donations, to preserve these works. To understand the chemical changes that have occurred over time, scientists and conservators have faithfully replicated Warhol’s method. They purchased identical metallic powders and acrylic paints used in the late 1970s and enlisted volunteers to consume vitamin B to enhance the oxidizing effect of urine, which was then applied to the canvases using a pipette, just as it was done in the Factory. Warhol’s obsession with documentation and collecting extended beyond bodily fluids. It encompassed every, even the most mundane aspect of his life, culminating in one of the most unusual archival projects in art history, the “Time Capsules.” Beginning in 1974 and continuing until his death in 1987, Warhol filled ordinary brown cardboard boxes daily with items that had passed through his hands that day. These included bills, party invitations, newspaper clippings, fan letters, menus, airline tickets, and even remnants of food such as a piece of cake wrapped in a handkerchief. Each box was sealed, dated, and sent to storage. He left behind more than 600 such capsules, forming a monumental and chaotic diary of one life and one era.