ron roelandt

Ferrara, 03.05.2026

I visited the exhibition Ladies and Gentlemen by Andy Warhol at Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. Not a copy, but a reference to the exhibition of the same name that was organized in Ferrara fifty years ago.

What I personally find fascinating about this re-staging is that it speaks as much about 1975 as it does about today. Not only about gender or representation, but also about image culture: people constructing themselves through make-up, poses, filters, and performance. In a way, the figures in Ladies and Gentlemen feel surprisingly contemporary — almost as if Warhol had already anticipated an Instagram aesthetic long before social media existed.

In Ladies and Gentlemen, drag performers receive the same monumental treatment as film and pop stars. By portraying them through the same visual language of glamour and iconization, the distinction between celebrity and marginality, between identity and performance, begins to blur.

Warhol himself also seems to belong to that world of masks and self-construction: like his models, he carefully crafted his own public image.

During my visit to the exhibition at Palazzo dei Diamanti, what struck me most was how current these images still feel — as if Warhol already understood that identity is always, in some way, a form of performance.

UK

Ho visitato la mostra Ladies and Gentlemen di Andy Warhol al Palazzo dei Diamanti di Ferrara. Non una copia, ma un rimando alla mostra omonima organizzata a Ferrara cinquant’anni fa.

Ciò che personalmente trovo affascinante in questa ripresa è che parla tanto del 1975 quanto di oggi. Non solo di genere o di rappresentazione, ma anche di cultura dell’immagine: persone che costruiscono sé stesse attraverso trucco, pose, filtri e performance. In un certo senso, le figure di Ladies and Gentlemen sembrano sorprendentemente contemporanee — quasi come se Warhol avesse già intuito un’estetica da Instagram molto prima dell’esistenza dei social media.

In Ladies and Gentlemen, le drag performer ricevono lo stesso trattamento monumentale riservato alle star del cinema e della musica pop. Rappresentandole attraverso lo stesso linguaggio visivo di glamour e iconizzazione, il confine tra celebrità e marginalità, tra identità e performance, si fa sfumato.

Anche Warhol stesso sembra appartenere a quel mondo di maschere e autocostruzione: proprio come i suoi modelli, costruì con grande cura la propria immagine pubblica.

Durante la mia visita alla mostra al Palazzo dei Diamanti, ciò che colpiva maggiormente era quanto quelle immagini appaiano ancora attuali — come se Warhol avesse già compreso che l’identità è sempre anche una forma di performance.

IT

Ik zag de expositie Ladies and Gentlemen van Andy Warhol in Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. Geen kopie, maar een verwijzing naar de tentoonstelling met dezelfde naam die 50 jaar geleden in Ferrara werd georganiseerd.

Wat ik persoonlijk boeiend vind aan deze herneming is dat ze eigenlijk evenveel over 1975 als over vandaag gaat. Niet alleen over gender of representatie, maar ook over beeldcultuur: mensen die zichzelf construeren via make-up, poses, filters, performance. In zekere zin lijken de figuren uit Ladies and Gentlemen verrassend hedendaags — bijna alsof Warhol al een Instagram-esthetiek aanvoelde lang vóór sociale media bestonden.

In Ladies and Gentlemen krijgen drag performers dezelfde monumentale behandeling als film- en popsterren. Door hen met dezelfde visuele taal van glamour en iconisering af te beelden, vervaagt het verschil tussen beroemdheid en marginaliteit, tussen identiteit en performance.

Ook Warhol zelf lijkt deel uit te maken van die wereld van maskers en zelfconstructie: net als zijn modellen bouwde hij zorgvuldig aan zijn eigen publieke imago.

Tijdens mijn bezoek aan de expositie in Palazzo dei Diamanti viel vooral op hoe actueel die beelden nog aanvoelen — alsof Warhol al begreep dat identiteit altijd ook een vorm van performance is.

NL