Andy Warhol: The Polaroids Exhibition
See Andy Warhol: The Polaroids at Tryon Fine Arts Center, Feb 27 to Apr 24 + Andy After Hours at Mirrorball on March 7.
Rare Warhol Polaroids, events, and downtown Tryon nightlife.
This spring, Tryon, North Carolina, becomes a must-visit destination for Pop Art lovers, collectors, photographers, and culture seekers. Andy Warhol: The Polaroids arrives with a rare and compelling selection of Warhol’s iconic instant photographs, on view at the Tryon Fine Arts Center (TFAC) from February 27 through April 24.
In partnership with TFAC, Mirrorball Gallery + Lounge will present a companion exhibition, Andy After Hours, a limited, adults-only showcase featuring rarely seen Warhol Polaroid nudes, unveiled during a celebratory evening on Saturday, March 7, beginning at 6:00 PM at Mirrorball in downtown Tryon.
If you have ever wanted to experience Warhol beyond the Campbell’s soup cans and Marilyns, this is the moment. These exhibitions invite you into the artist’s world through the lens he carried everywhere: the Polaroid camera.
Why This Warhol Exhibition Matters
Andy Warhol remains one of the most recognized and influential artists of the 20th century, not only for his images but for his ability to capture and shape culture. Warhol was full of contradictions: outrageous yet shy, glamorous yet introspective. A fixture at Studio 54, he chronicled the rich, famous, and infamous while redefining contemporary art through silkscreen prints, paintings, and experimental films.
As a leading force in the Pop Art movement, Warhol observed consumerism, fame, and identity with razor-sharp clarity. Yet behind the spectacle, the Polaroid camera was one of his most essential tools, producing images that feel immediate, intimate, and electric.
The Polaroid Camera: Instant Image, Enduring Art
Warhol carried his Polaroid camera almost everywhere. He used it to capture spontaneous portraits of celebrities and members of his inner circle, creating a visual diary of faces, fashion, attitude, and access. What began as reference material for paintings evolved into fully realized works of art in their own right.
Polaroids are deceptively simple. They appear casual, even offhand. In Warhol’s hands, they become charged with presence. The instant format makes everything feel close, like you are standing in the room with the subject, watching the moment develop in real time.
This exhibition features a curated selection from a larger group of 152 photographs donated in 2008 through the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts via its Photographic Legacy Program. Nationwide, the Foundation has distributed more than 52,000 works to institutions across the United States, extending Warhol’s enduring support of artists and cultural organizations.
Curated by Leah Mulligan Cabinum, USC Upstate
Andy Warhol: The Polaroids is curated by Leah Mulligan Cabinum, Gallery Director at the University of South Carolina Upstate. The collection was donated to USC Upstate by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and it offers a rare opportunity to encounter Warhol’s photography as both process and product.
For visitors, it is a chance to see Warhol up close, not as myth, but as a maker.
Special Programming: Walk and Talk at TFAC
The March 7 opening reception at TFAC includes a Walk and Talk from 4:30 to 5:15 PM, featuring Jane Nodine, Professor of Art and Director of the Curtis R. Harley Gallery at USC Upstate.
This conversation adds depth and context to the exhibition, exploring Warhol’s approach to image-making and why these photographs remain so relevant today.
Andy After Hours at Mirrorball: Warhol Energy, Late Night Edge
After the TFAC reception, the celebration continues just a short walk away at Mirrorball Gallery + Lounge.
Beginning at 6:00 PM on Saturday, March 7, Andy After Hours offers an exclusive look at Warhol’s rarely seen Polaroid nudes, presented in a limited, adults-only companion exhibition. It is a bold late-night unveiling that leans into the spirit of Warhol as cultural provocateur, equal parts art, glamour, and boundary-pushing self-expression.
Mirrorball’s Studio Lounge at 84 Pacolet Street becomes the after-party setting where fashion, music, and art collide. Glitter, glam, disco, and New Wave flair are encouraged. Think disco queens, punk provocateurs, Warhol fright wigs, and unapologetic style.
Hosted by Mirrorball owners Alex Page and E. Vincent Martinez, Andy After Hours promises a high-voltage evening of music, spectacle, and downtown Tryon energy.
Plan Your Visit: Tryon, North Carolina as an Arts Destination
Tryon has long been known for its creative spirit and cultural life, and this Warhol season adds a major chapter to that story. Whether you are traveling from Asheville, Greenville, Charlotte, Atlanta, or beyond, this is the kind of exhibition pairing that turns a night out into a full weekend experience.
Make it a gallery afternoon at TFAC, then follow the crowd downtown for Mirrorball’s evening reveal. Pop Art in the early evening, Warhol after hours at night.
Why You Should See These Exhibitions in Person
Warhol’s work is often reproduced, referenced, and remixed. But Polaroids are different in person. You feel the scale, the immediacy, the intimacy. You see the subtle tonal shifts, the flash, the candid tension, the quick decision-making. You can sense the artist’s presence, and the subject’s awareness of being seen.
From celebrity portraits to intimate studies, Andy Warhol: The Polaroids and Andy After Hours offer Western North Carolina a rare opportunity to experience Warhol’s lens up close, raw, immediate, and unmistakably iconic.
Event Summary
Andy Warhol: The Polaroids
On view February 27 to April 24
Tryon Fine Arts Center (TFAC), Tryon, NC
Opening Reception
Saturday, March 7 | 4:30 to 6:30 PM
Walk and Talk: 4:30 to 5:15 PM with Jane Nodine (USC Upstate)
Andy After Hours (Adults Only)
Saturday, March 7 | Begins at 6:00 PM
Mirrorball Gallery + Lounge, Studio Lounge
84 Pacolet Street, Downtown Tryon
