Upon entering the main gallery, you are faced with glass tables holding sculptures by various artists, a number of side galleries containing art from previous Sport Artist of the Year recipients and the featured exhibit, which covers the circumference of the room.
Featured in this exhibit are 16 of some of the most recent works by artist Charles Billich. This body of work entitled "Bing Mah Yong," exposes the sport of the modern olympiad and the terra cotta soldiers found in the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang (221 B.C.). Here we see Billich "manipulating reality" by featuring the terra cotta soldiers of ancient China as modern Olympians.
View a slide show of Billich's Bing Mah Yong collection 
"Shooter" |
"Gymnast" |
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Charles Billich: Considering himself a surrealist, Billich's "manipulated reality" stems from his personal experiences. A teenage dancer with the Opera Corp de Ballet in Rijeka, Billich wrote satirical articles for a local Italian-language magazine. After receiving a ten-year prison sentence for his writings by a repressive communist regime — only two of which he had to serve — the older inmates encouraged his studies of languages and designed sets for prison plays, easing the political and psychological privations for him. In the many years past, Billich has become internationally renowned for his artwork. In 1996, he was named the Official Artist for the Australian team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, he has also been a recipient of the coveted Spoleto Award in Italy. Learn more about Billich |
The Gallery Sculptures
Located in the gallery are a set of 10 sculptures, three of which are featured below.
 William Kohl |
 Paul Wegner |  Sergey Eylanbekov |
