WICHITA, KS.- With bold color and graphic images inspired by advertising, movies, television, and comic strips of the late 1950s and 1960s, the modern art movement—called pop art—embraced the visual language of popular culture to tease the imagination and tempt the senses. Explore the sensory language of pop art with the fall exhibition, Shiny, Sticky, Smooth: Pop Art and the Senses, Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, on view now at the Wichita Art Museum.

Works by such notable artists as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Wayne Thiebaud, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, and more re-stage the traditional story of pop art as a full-sensory experience, leading visitors to a new perspective on the movement and to a deeper understanding of mass culture.

This exhibition follows WAM’s successful 2013 exhibition Under Pressure, which featured more than 100 prints from the collections of Portland, Oregon, business leader and philanthropist Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation.

“We are very excited to have our second exhibition at the Wichita Art Museum – Shiny, Sticky, Smooth: Pop Art and the Senses. Can you believe that title? Fabulous! Hats off to Curator Lisa Volpe and Museum Director Patricia McDonnell for selecting an incredible body of art,” said Jordan D. Schnitzer. “This exhibition will take us all back in time to the 1960s and beyond, with artists whose themes are as fresh today as they were 50 years ago!”

At age 14, Jordan D. Schnitzer bought his first work of art from his mother’s Portland, Oregon contemporary art gallery, evolving into his lifelong avocation as collector. He began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in earnest in 1988. Today, the collection exceeds 9,500 works and includes many of today’s most important contemporary artists. It has grown to be one of the country’s largest private print collections overall. He generously lends work from his collection to qualified institutions and has organized over 100 exhibitions at more than 75 museums. Mr. Schnitzer is also President of Harsch Investment Properties, a privately owned real estate investment company based in Portland, Oregon, with 23 million square feet of office, multi-tenant industrial, multi-family and retail properties in six western states.

Shiny, Sticky, Smooth: Pop Art and the Senses, Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation has been organized by the Wichita Art Museum with the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. Support for the exhibition and related educational and outreach programs has been made possible by a grant from the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.

The DeVore Foundation contributed additional support as the lead sponsor for the Wichita presentation. Charles Baker as well as Sondra Langel and Richard Smith are major exhibition supporters. Eric Engstrom and Robert Bell, Helen and Ed Healy, Jeff Kennedy and Patti Gorham, and Trish Higgins also provided exhibition funding for Wichita. All museum exhibitions receive generous sponsorship from the Friends of the Wichita Art Museum and City of Wichita.

Shiny, Sticky, Smooth: Pop Art and the Senses, Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation is on view in the John W. and Mildred L. Graves Gallery and the Louise and S. O. Berean Gallery through January 15, 2017. Gallery hours are 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 pm on Sunday. Saturday admission is always free, thanks to the generosity of Colby Sandlian and Sandlian Realty.