Last month, Taglialatella Galleries hosted an opening reception at its flagship New York City location for Burton Morris’ “Painting Playboy,” the latest in the artist’s Icon Series. “Usually my message has been based on what is going on in pop culture,” the artist told Playboy ahead of the exhibition’s opening. “The pop art movement really inspired me, and Playboy embraced artists. Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Tom Wesselmann, Alberto Vargas, LeRoy Neiman, Peter Max—they all worked on Playboy. When I think about how Playboy has inspired generations of great artists—I mean, incredible artists—and someone like me who was just begging to see more art, it really was a great breakthrough.” In all, Morris’ collection includes 64 works, one for each year of the magazine’s existence.
Attendees of the opening included Playmates Ines Rau and Shanice Jordyn. Fellow Playmates Nina Daniele and Val Keil, dressed in Bunny costume, added to the evening’s Rabbit ethos.
Above, learn more about the artist himself, his roots and his creative inspirations before stepping inside Taglialatella Galleries’ opening reception. After, make sure to schedule a visit to see the exhibition at 229 10th Avenue, New York, before it closes on December 8th.