art'otel berlin city center west, by park plaza

At art'otel berlin city center west, Warhol made the famous Campbell's Soup cans that transform the hallway of the hotel's first floor into a gallery. Among his most significant works are the Marilyn portraits, which can be found in the hotel's rooms. Fascinated by the glamour of the stars, Warhol created numerous pictures of the actress, thus contributing decisively to her fame. 

art'otel berlin city center west's excellent collection comprises exciting rare works that enrich one's insight into the artist, revealing his enigmatic qualities. Just one floor up, you can see the still-life Space Fruits from 1979, and on the third floor, the Shadows series – mysteriously sparkling abstract works awash in diamond dust that communicate an intimation of a dark netherworld.

In his late works, Warhol experimented with motifs borrowed from masterpieces of European art history. For his Saint Apollonia series on the fourth floor, he used a Tuscan painting of the Renaissance as his model. The graceful saint, an early Christian martyr, is presented with pincers in which she holds a tooth – an indication of her own ordeal and of her mission as the patron saint of those suffering from toothache.

Warhol was a multitalented artist, and he made a name for himself as a photographer, a filmmaker and an author. He supported the band "The Velvet Underground" with musicians like Lou Reed, designing the cover of the band’s first album with the characteristic banana that has since become known through the work of the graffiti artist Thomas Baumgärtel – he sprays them as a "seal of quality" next to the entrances of significant cultural facilities.

On the fifth floor, you can see the original on an album cover next to the elevator. When Andy Warhol returned to painting in 1972 following a period in which he dedicated himself exclusively to making films, he opted to make a portrait of Mao, creating a series of printed works that can be seen on the top floor of the hotel.

Each series of works is accompanied by black-and-white photographs in the corridors taken by Warhol's companion Christopher Makos, who for years documented the encounters of his friend with celebrities of the period, chronicling at the same time the steady decline that began after the assassination attempt in 1968.

Warhol died in New York City on February 22, 1987.