Gagosian has announced The Art of the Olympics, a two-part group exhibition organized in association with the Olympic Museum to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
The gallery at rue de Castiglione features artworks in various mediums that explore sport’s rich cultural, iconographic, social, and emotional tapestry. Among the selections is Andreas Gursky’s monumental photograph Amsterdam, Arena I (2000), which presents a panoramic aerial view of a football match, reducing the uniformed players and manicured turf to an abstract composition of line and color. Man Ray’s similarly playful Jeux Nocturnes (c. 1970) infuses the soccer ball itself with a spirit of mystery that suggests a hidden dynamic, while Duane Hanson’s polychrome bronze sculpture Bodybuilder (1989–90) portrays an unnamed muscular, shirtless man encountered by the artist at a gym in Hollywood, Florida; the subject’s skin is sheened with sweat and his expression conveys a state of deep self-immersion. Jonas Wood’s Scholl Canyon (2005) transforms the serene landscape of a sprawling golf course into a multilayered abstract composition and Christo’s drawing for Running Fence (1974), a 39.4-kilometer public sculpture, communicates a sense of shared exhilaration akin to a marathon in its nurturing of cultural exchange and unity. The repurposing of fabric used in the artist’s Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped (1961–2021) in tents for the Paris Olympic Games extends his enduring legacy. A further selection includes works by Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami, Marc Newson, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, and others.
The second-floor gallery at rue de Ponthieu features a selection of posters drawn from the Olympic Museum’s collection, which were designed by internationally renowned artists to promote and commemorate previous editions of the Olympic Games. Among the highlights are David Hockney’s summery design for the 1972 Games in Munich, which features an image of an athlete diving into the undulating blue-and-green waters of a swimming pool; Robert Rauschenberg’s Star in Motion (1982), a fragmented photographic collage selected as the official poster for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles; Cy Twombly’s poster for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, which draws on the ancient origins of the games in a characteristic scrawl; and Rachel Whiteread’s playful abstract interpretation of the Olympic Games London 2012, which comprises a constellation of overlapping rings of bright colored paint. Other artists represented by specially commissioned graphics include Christo, Michael Craig-Martin, Tracey Emin, Howard Hodgkin, Roy Lichtenstein, Henry Moore, Nam June Paik, Park Seo-Bo, Pablo Picasso, James Rosenquist, Pierre Soulages, Andy Warhol, and Zao Wou-Ki. On view alongside the posters is an array of infrequently exhibited items of correspondence and other artifacts closely related to previous editions of the Olympic Games.
Together, the two parts of The Art of the Olympics celebrate the dynamic interplay between art and sport, fostering a vibrant dialogue that continually rejuvenates and enriches both realms. This exhibition, which pays tribute to the cultural significance of sport in contemporary society, continues a gallery tradition, established in 2019 with An Exhibition for Notre-Dame at rue de Ponthieu, of responding directly to key events in the city.
The display at rue de Castiglione will be visible from the street twenty-four hours a day, while the whole exhibition will remain open to visitors for an extended period through the summer during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.A portion of proceeds from sales will be donated to the Olympic Refuge Foundation, a nongovernmental organization founded in September 2017 by the International Olympic Committee and based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The foundation’s primary stated goals are to support the protection, development, and thriving of displaced young people worldwide, through sport.
THE ART OF THE OLYMPICS, In association with the Olympic Museum
June 6th –September 7th, 2024* Gagosian, 9 rue de Castiglione and 4 rue de Ponthieu, Paris
For more information, please visit olympics.com.
*Both galleries will be closed from Saturday, August 10th, through Monday, August 26th.
About the Olympic Museum
Located in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne, Switzerland, the Olympic Museum is the official home of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Olympic heritage, including artifacts, archives, images, books, and film. The museum’s international exhibitions and programs connect people of all ages with the diverse stories, art, history, and culture of the global phenomenon that is the Olympic Games. Through educational initiatives inspired by peace, solidarity, and the Olympic values of respect, friendship, and excellence, the Olympic Museum brings together athletes, visitors, students, artists, and an affiliated network of museums across the world.
