SPORTSVERGNüGEN

Visual art and sports rarely mix well. Most can mention any number of successful sports related films, songs, plays and books, yet, for the visual arts, there are few major works that measure up to the greatest sports related art such as Myron’s Discobolus (Discus Thrower) (450 B.C.E.), George Bellows iconic Dempsey and Firpo (1924), or, in more recent times, Catherine Opie’s poignant photographic portraits of High School, American Football players.

When I googled in images “sports related fine art” the first thing that came up was a photograph of three old naked guys playing golf, followed by a bunch of Leroy Neiman paintings or art inspired by Leroy Neiman paintings, plus lots of very slick sports-action photographs – nothing for a contemporary art exhibition.

After months of searching, Augustus Goertz and I have selected a number of compelling works that break the mold of the aforementioned lowest common denominator-type. With our selections of sculpture, 

painting, collages, needlework and objects, we hope to challenge the viewer to see past the over commercialized and commoditized sports world to find a more complex and expansive reality that lies beyond money and marketability. Few artists care to admit they have an interest in sports yet there are some that see a starting point like any other aspect of popular culture: a starting point to create.

For the complete digital catalog with images click here