After Warhol
Rae Rylko
- Sitter: Jon Barnett
- Medium: Oil on Canvas
- Dimensions: 63cm x 83cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
- Categories: Female artist
About the artwork
Jon Barnett is the husband of artist Rae Rylko. An accountant with no formal art training, Barnett had spent years accompanying Rylko to galleries, largely indifferent. His first visit to a Pop Art exhibition changed that. Moving through the show, he began instinctively responding to each work with spontaneous poses, as though in quiet conversation with the images. When they reached Andy Warhol’s Cross, he lowered his head and extended his arms. Nothing was directed or staged. As a practising Christian, Barnett connected with the work immediately. His response was instinctive and genuine.
Rylko simply captured the moment as it unfolded. Painted in the classical tradition against Warhol’s bold Pop Art composition, After Warhol explores how an untrained person can bring deeply personal meaning to an iconic image, transforming a chance gallery encounter into something personally significant.
About the artist
Rae Rylko holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Queensland College of Art and Design and has undertaken further classical realist training with artist Ben Smith. Her debut portrait was selected for the 2021 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize semi-finals. Her work is currently showing in the 2026 Archibald Salon des Refusés and the Doyles Art Award.
