Cristóbal Gabarrón 100 Years of Olympics |
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ASAMA recently celebrated the return of twelve mixed-media on paper works by the renowned Spanish painter Cristóbal Gabarrón. These images represent Gabarrón's "The Atlanta Star collection." They left the Museum for Indianapolis, Indiana on 17 March 2004. While in Indianapolis they served as a part of the NCAA Hall of Champions' Journey to the Gold exhibition, which the Assistant Director of Special Projects for the NCAA deemed "a huge success."
The American Sport Art Museum and Archives is currently displaying the complete collection in an exhibition entitled, "100 years of Olympics" by Cristóbal Gabarrón, in the newly renovated portion of the Museum. These abstract representations celebrate the first 100 years of the Modern Olympiad. These two-dimensional works are the Academy commissioned installation piece, "The Atlanta Star - An Olympic Forest." Composed of twenty-six pillars, "The Atlanta Star" was located in front of the Olympic MARTA station, during the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. Showcasing the simplistic beauty of the human form in motion, these contemporary images recall the history of the Modern Olympiad from 1896-1996.
Communicating with simplistic forms, Gabarrón sends out complex messages full of ambiguity and duality. We see this present itself through the translucent forms that are contained within the structure of dark lines. Symbolic forms such as the dove, denoting peace, recur throughout these images.
You will notice the dove is not present during those times when there were "No Games" due to World War I and World II, such as 1912. Presenting a record of man's movement through history as well as sport, Gabarrón's interpretation of man's significance is apparent by his representation of the human form within the image. For example, the presentation of the figure is as diverse as the images themselves. What other forms are as recognizable? Characteristic of most artists who work in the abstract, colors also takes on symbolic form. Choose an image and try to read it as if it were a pictorial text.
View a Flash slideshow of the Gabarrón exhibit.
Other Featured Exhibits:
- The Road to the Beijing Olympiad 2008 Through Art
- Wyland — Faster, Higher, Stronger
- Cristóbal Gabarrón — 100 Years of The Modern Olympics
- Charles Billich — Bing Mah Yongs
- Bruce Larsen — Found Object Sculptures
- Jim Ridlon — NFL Assemblages
- Stephen Holland — Hockey Series & Woodblock prints
